We Think, Therefore We Are
by Insert Typical Username Here
Summary: Reimu is killed in what seems to be a normal incident. She must fill in the shoes of Kamen Rider Ghost as she attempts to save both Gensokyo and the outside world from a threat too big for either to handle. Diverges from show canon partway in.
1. Chapter 1: Death of a Shrine Maiden

**Gensokyo, Japan. Around 2013 AD.**

The incident had started out normal enough. It was your standard affair: a mysterious stone artifact appearing out of nowhere, youkai going crazy—the normal deal. So, Reimu grabbed the artifact—thinking it would be nice to sell later—and decided to investigate. Of course, her "investigation" was really just beating up everyone who ran across her path until she eventually found the right person. Her intuition hadn't failed her so far—and it didn't this time either. After, er, _pacifying_ several rowdy youkai who had been aroused by the chaos and fighting Marisa again for good measure, she eventually discovered the source—a vengeful spirit that had the ability to open portals to the land of the dead. It was a tough fight, smashing a decent bit of the Forest of Magic, but eventually Reimu emerged victorious.

"Go home," she said to the defeated spirit. "Celebrate Halloween or whatever, I don't care."

"You've no idea what you've just done," the spirit replied, cackling madly. "I was but an envoy. The main force has yet to come."  
"Huh? Speak clearly, you two-bit ghost," Reimu snapped, annoyed. "Just die again or something so I can get back."

The spirit laughed, eyes wide in insanity. "Oh, you pitiful fools! Soon all shall come to ruin! And all will join the Eye!"

"Yo, Reimu!" Marisa called from a ways below them, followed by Sakuya and Youmu. Of course, they were flying. "Ditch that loser and let's go raid Kourin's for junk!"

"Yeah, yeah," she dismissed. "Anyways, keep it cool and I won't have to beat your hide five times over next time." She began to fly away, Marisa already ahead and promising to "only leave the crappy dregs."

None of them saw the spirit carve a strange eye-shaped symbol onto its ethereal chest.

None of them saw the spirit's body contort into a long, jagged, pitch-black spear.

None of them saw a dark hand reach through an unclosed portal and grab the weapon.

As such, none of them were prepared to do anything when Reimu felt _something_ impact her from behind. She slowly looked down to find a midnight-colored edge spouting out of her chest, covered in crimson. Faintly she heard the screams of her companions, and, through a haze, she dimly noted that she seemed to be falling. The world turned upside down.

She didn't even feel it when she hit the ground.

* * *

With a start, the Shrine Maiden of Paradise woke up to a blurry—and surprisingly wet—world. Panicked, she thrashed about in the water for a bit before instinct kicked in and she broke clear of the surface. She tread water for a few moments, gasping for breath. "Where in the seven hells am I?" she muttered before taking a good look around.

She appeared to be in some kind of forest. Trees stretched out in front of her, and a waterfall to her back. The miko noted that she had ended up in some kind of river—hence the drowning. Climbing onto the shore, she flopped onto her back and stared at the sky, trying to process all that just happened.

"Reimu!" A cry came from off to the side. Startled, she stood up and saw the source of confusion. A distortion wavered in the air, showing what looked like the Forest of Magic. Marisa, Sakuya, and Sanae—and was that Yukari off to the side?—were crowded around a body on the forest floor. She couldn't see their expressions from this angle, but it was apparent they were deeply upset. Marisa kept on shaking the uncomfortably familiar red-dressed body and shouting—

 _Ah._

She fell to her knees, wide-eyed in panic. She was dead. That was _her_ body laying on the forest floor, with that ungodly spear poking through her chest and _oh gods there was so much blood._ She felt sick—but couldn't throw up. "I can't be dead . . . right?"

"Want to live again!?" a voice boomed out from the top of the waterfall. Startled, Reimu whipped her head in the sound of the voice, only to shield her eyes as a bright light offended her retinas. The light died down, and in its place stood a robed figure. "Well, of course you do!"

"Who the hell are you!?" she demanded, her eyes still smarting.

"Everyone, yet no-one," the voice, now discernible as an older male's, said from behind her. She whipped around to be greeted by a white-haired man wearing what seemed to be robes and some kind of hippie headband. "Quit that BS. Who are you?"

"For now, you can call me Sage," he said, walking over to her. "And what I'm here to do is—"

"You can bring me back to life?" she interrupted, rushing over to him, voice filled with desperation. "I need to! Gensokyo needs me to—"

The next thing Reimu knew she was flat on her back again, winded. "Fool! Have patience!" the one named Sage reprimanded her. "Listen to what I'm about to say."

"That thing that killed you—it's called a Ganma. It's a vengeful spirit from another realm." Sage paced as he talked, can tapping the ground. "It's quite dangerous—and one of many that are trying to force their ways into your world as we speak." He stuck his cane right at her chest. "That eye that you're holding. Bring it out."

Confused, she reached into her clothes and brought out the strange relic. "You mean this? I found it at the start of the incident. But what does that have to do with—"

"It's called an Eyecon," he said, ignoring her outburst. "It currently houses your soul. You're lucky you had that on you when you died—else you'd be rotting in hell or stuck in purgatory, I dunno. In any case, treat it with the utmost care. It's your life."

She stared at the thing in her hand. It seemed so . . . fragile. "You mean . . . this thing is me?"

"Indeed," he nodded, relieved she had finally fallen into his pace. "Now, you have a choice. You can either move onto the afterlife from here, or you can . . . shall we say, attempt to get your second chance."

Reimu's head shot up. "So I _can_ come back!?"

"You're getting ahead of yourself," he chuckled. "You see, there are other Eyecons out there in the world that contain the essence of heroes. One could say that Eyecons are the very souls of heroes themselves!" Here he drew a glyph in the ground—a strange eye that was aflame. "If you collect fifteen Eyecons, you will be granted one wish. You can do anything with that power—like come back to life, for example." Sage winked cheekily.

"You'd better not be pulling my strings, old man," Reimu shot up and glared at him. "Where are these Eyecons?"

"Wait, wait," he waved his hands in front of him. "It's not as easy as it sounds. There are plenty of Ganma gunning for the Eyecons—that's why you were killed. You had an Eyecon it wanted."

Once again, Reimu stared at her soul, now almost toyetic in appearance. "So I just have to beat them up and grab fifteen?"

"Ah, but you can't beat them as-is," Sage tutted. "You'll need a certain kind of power."

"What is it? How can I beat them? I gotta know!"

Sage smirked. "Are you willing to risk your very soul to combat the Ganma? To save the world—both yours and what you call the outside—from eminent destruction?"

"Yes," Reimu said with a fire in her eyes. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to come back."

Suddenly, the Eyecon in her hands flashed. When the glow faded, it had changed slightly—now slightly more squarish and colored. "This is . . . ?"

"One more thing," Gramps said, pointing a finger at her waist. Before she could react, an orange flame flickered to life around her midsection, before burning away, revealing a strange device. "You'll need that."

"What is this?" she said, startled.

"You ask too many stupid questions," a patronizing voice said.

Jumping again—and now thoroughly tired by all these sudden voices—she glared at the new arrival. It was an orange colored spirit, its head dominated by a huge eyeball. "That's Yurusen," Sage explained. "It'll fill you in on the details."

"Wait, what?"

"Off with you!" he shouted, shoving her back with an incredible force. She flailed back, falling into the water, water filling her vision.

Back in Gensokyo, the other incident-resolvers were still in shock. They hadn't moved from where they were. Marisa shook Reimu's body yet again, her voice hoarse from calling her name. "Marisa, she's gone," Sanae said wearily. "She can't hear you."

"No!" Marisa screamed. "She's not dead! She can't be dead!"

Sakuya simply turned away, not wanting to see her companion in such a state.

All of a sudden, a golden glow burst out of the sky. Even as they shied away, Reimu's body disappeared in a shower of golden sparks.

"Reimu!" The three frantically searched around for her body. Marisa, in her off-kilter state, immediately assumed some youkai stole her body and charged off, yelling incoherently. Sakuya and Sanae were quick to follow, worried for her safety.

Reimu wanted to punch someone. She had been yelling at them for the past minute, but they apparently couldn't hear her. "I guess I really am a ghost," she muttered. She walked around a bit, dejected. "Now what am I supposed to do?"

Yurusen poofed into existence. "Hey, kid! Quit spacin' out, we got trouble!"

Reimu was about to fire off a retort when a noise caught her ear. "What was that?"

She turned to face a blackened creature, skin as midnight. Its chest, rose and dell with shuddering breaths, exposed ribs jutting through its skin. It opened a jagged-toothed mouth and growled, a foul sound harsh on the ears.

"Is that a Ganma?" Reimu asked, stepping back. "Gross."

"Hey, hey! If you want to beat that thing, you gotta transform," Yurusen called out. "You can't use your normal powers as a ghost—and even if you could, it wouldn't matter."

"Well, how do I do that?"

"Click the switch on your Eyecon! Then load it into the belt and pump the lever!"

Reimu stared at the floating eyeball, before shrugging and clicking the switch on her soul jar. For a moment, it flashed with a strange letter she couldn't read—she thought it was English. Tugging on her driver's case and finding it easy to open, she loaded the Eyecon into the slot she supposed it went and closed the case.

" _Aye!"_

"Huh?" She wasn't quite prepared for something to come _out_ of her Driver. "Wait, what?"

"Come on, pump the lever! He's right there, ya know!"

Shrugging, she grabbed the orange handle and pumped it out and in. That annoyingly excited voice—which she would later learn was the Driver itself—chanted " _Eyes open! It's me!"_ before falling silent as neon lines ran up and down Reimu's form. Before she could say anything, the lines flashed, and she was covered in a suit of strange, glowing armor. "What's going on?"

The thing she had conjured earlier floated towards her. She tried to bat it away, but it easily flowed around her waving and settled on top of her. Reimu felt _something_ fit over her—almost like a jacket—even as a mask clicked onto her face. "What-what is this?"

The only answer she got was the roar of the Ganma and her Driver chanting, "Let's go! Dead set! Go-go-go-Ghost!" Confused, frustrated and scared (though she'd never admit it), she lashed out with a loud "Shut up!" Her fist connected with the monstrosity, sending it flying back with a power she never had.

"You are Kamen Rider Ghost," Reimu's otherworldly companion explained even as she stared at her hand in wonder. "You have been burdened with the task of protecting this world from Ganma and other supernatural threats."

"I don't get it, but that thing's going down!" With renewed fervor, and plenty of vengeance, she launched her assault on the shadowy creature. "You think you can kill me and get away with it, huh!?"

The Ganma crumpled under her onslaught, occasionally trying to lash back, only to miss and to be rewarded with a boot to the face.

"Kid! Finish it off!" Yurusen called out.

Reimu paused momentarily from beating it over the skull with a heavy branch. "What?"

"Pump the lever again!"

Tossing her instrument of abuse away, she did as she was told. Her Driver announced "Eyes wide open! My Omega Drive!" as she felt her foot burn with energy.

"I see," she grinned beneath her mask. "It's like a Spellcard."

"A what?"

The Ganma, howling with pain, lept at her, claws outstretched.

"Omega Drive: 「Wind God Kick」!"

Reimu kicked upwards, flipping with the momentum. She followed through with a second, third, and fourth somersault kick, all straight to that thing's jaw. There was a moment, when it seemed time had paused. Reimu hung in midair, suspended with the Ganma in space. Then that moment ended and she kicked it once more, her heel smashing upwards. The monster flew back, howling, as it flew into a tree, smashing the bark. Something black seemed to peel off it, and then there was an inky explosion, almost knocking Reimu off her feet.

". . . Was that it?" she said. She absentmindedly opened her Driver and pulled out her Eyecon. Her armor dissolved around her. "Did I win?"

"Sure did!" the constantly-smiling Yurusen giggled. "And now ya gotta go!"

"Huh?"

Reimu suddenly fell through a portal, shouting in surprise. She landed hard into a body of cold water. "Ugh, not again," she groaned as she climbed out. She took a look around. "Wait, I'm back here?"

"Welcome back," Sage greeted her. "Unfortunately you must leave Gensokyo at once."

"Wait, what?" Reimu demanded. "Why?"

"Because," a familiar voice responded. "You have a job to do."

Reimu groaned as the Princess of the Netherworld descended, followed closely by her eternally-present gardener. "Ugh, I should have known you would be involved."

"Hi, Reimu~" the seemingly-airheaded ghost waved cheerfully. "Sorry, but you can't stay—for now. You'll need to go to the outside world."

"Why?"

"Becaaaaause," came the airy reply. "I'll tell you later. For now, bye-bye!"

In that moment, Reimu sympathized wholeheartedly with Youmu. As torturous as those few minutes with Sage were, she couldn't imagine what sixty years of similar treatment would be like. "Ugh, fine. Where do I go?"

"Down that way," Yuyuko answered, pointing to a thicket of trees. "Youmu will escort you."

And with that, with annoyingly cheerful waves from both Sage and Yuyuko, Reimu set off, followed by the white-haired swordsman. Eventually, the thicket thinned, and they found themselves standing at a large hole in the ground.

"This is where we part ways," Youmu said. "I wish you the best of luck in returning to life."

"Yeah, well, thanks," Reimu peered down the hole. "I'm still confused as to what is going on."

"As am I," Youmu sighed. "You know how eccentric she can be."

Reimu spared her a sympathetic glance. "You, uh, have my sympathies."

Youmu looked slightly surprised at her sentiment, but smiled slightly. "I'm used to it, but thank you." Chuckling slightly as Reimu blushed, embarrassed, she said, "Look for the Daitenku Temple. That's all I know."

Reimu took a deep breath. "Okay. Sounds simple enough. Just follow my gut." She nodded to Youmu. "Uh, take care and tell Marisa to stop whining. And she can't have the tea I've been saving for months."

Youmu bowed. "Very well."

With one last nod, Reimu took a few steps back before jumping into the hole.

* * *

She fell for several minutes, her surroundings getting darker and darker as she plummeted. "Uh, hang on," she said with growing dread. "I can't fly, can I."

Yurusen popped into life, hanging onto her sleeves. "No powers, buddy. You're dead!"

"That's, uh, pretty bad." Reimu gulped.

"Don't worry, you can't die," the spirit said. "You're already dead."

"That's encouraging?" she said uncertainly. "Hey, is that light?"

Indeed, they were rapidly approaching a source of light. Reimu shielded her eyes, engulfed by the brightness. When the glow dimmed, she lowered her hands. "Huh? Sky?"

They were in the middle of the air, falling freely. She craned her head to look back, and she saw the hole she came out of close slowly until it vanished. "Great, now what?" she muttered, the wind buffeting her face.

She fell through the sea of clouds, cutting through them like a hot knife through butter. It was then apparent that the ground was approaching at an uncomfortable rate. Trying desperately to slow her fall, Reimu shrieked as she plummeted like a red-skirted meteor to a brown building. She braced for impact . . . And phased right through the roof. She dared to open her eyes

 ** _Wham_**

and was greeted with the most painful landing she'd ever had. "Oh, ow, I think my everything's broken," she wheezed out.

Yurusen popped up. "Just because you can't die doesn't mean the pain won't make you wish you did."

"Tell me that sooner."

"Life ain't easy, kiddo." the spirit chortled.

Groaning, Reimu rolled to the side, wincing as she stood up. "Never again," she moaned. Something caught the corner of her eye. "Wait, what?"

"I think you used him to break your fall," Yurusen said.

Indeed, she had landed on a brown-haired man in a floral shirt. She knelt down and shook him roughly. "Hey, are you okay?"

The person groaned and then slowly opened his eyes, which quickly flew open in shock. "Huh? Who are you!? What are you doing in my house!?" the stranger demanded. Then he winced. "Ow, my head."

Reimu was flabbergasted. "Wait, you can see me? I'm a ghost!"

His eyes got even wider. "Wait, what?"

She nodded and stuck her hand through him. He yelped. "See?"

"W-woah!" He jumped back. He then frowned. "Wait, I've never been able to see ghosts! Why now?"

 _What happened to the denial that ghosts exist?_ Reimu shook her head. "Don't know, don't care. Uh, can you direct me to the Daitenku Temple?"

"Well, you're here," the man replied.

"Huh?"

He smiled. "Welcome to Daitenku Tenple. My name is Tenkuji Takeru."


	2. Chapter 2: Reimu's New Responsibility

**Daitenku Temple**

"So let me get this straight," Takeru clarified. "You need to collect fifteen of those 'Eyecons' so you can come back to life?"

Reimu nodded. "Yeah. Apparently they're around here or so. At least, that's what my gut tells me." She leaned back, sitting cross-legged. "I really don't want to travel all over the world looking for these stupid eyeballs."

It had been an hour since Reimu had unceremoniously crashed in through Takeru's roof and into his basement. She spent that sixty minutes further proving she was dead and telling him an abridged version of her unlife's story. Likewise, Takeru told her of his ambition to become a ghost hunter—of which he had little success.

"So where are you going to start?" the young man asked. "It sounds like you have your work cut out for you."

"Dunno," Reimu admitted. "Usually I just follow my gut instinct, but I'm not feeling anything right now."

Takeru stood up. Climbing to the basement's upper section, he grabbed a book off of his desk. "Well, I've been studying people of interest myself," he said. "Apparently it'll help me in the ghost hunting business—dad always said so." Flipping through the tome, he eventually settled on a well-opened page. "Miyamoto Musashi—my personal favorite. We could try searching for his."

"Where would we even find his? Does he even have an Eyecon?" Reimu asked. "Who _is_ Musashi, anyways?"

This proved to be a mistake on her part, as she was subject to a lecture from the other about the greatness of the swordsman. Tuning him out, she thought about her situation. What exactly _was_ she supposed to do?

"Find the Eyecons he said," she muttered. "At least give me _some_ direction."

Takeru stopped mid-rant. "Well, how about visiting a museum? They might offer some insight."

Reimu was about to answer, when she was interrupted by a loud presence from upstairs. "Master Takeru!" the obnoxiously loud voice shrieked. "Terrible news!"

"What?" Takeru started. "Reimu, I'll be right back. Onari, what happened?" he asked as he ascended the steps.

Reimu shrugged and sat in the basement, content to not do anything for now. She still had a nagging feeling in a tiny corner in the back of her mind that she was supposed to go with him, but she brushed it aside.

After a while, she decided to go upstairs and check things out. If she were going to stay here, she might as well check things out, right? Walking up the stairs, she was greeted to a state of panic. Several people—monks, she guessed—were scrambling around. A bald man was screeching in a very familiar voice, "Master Takeru!" Frowning, she saw them rush off. "I have a bad feeling about this," she muttered. She made haste and followed.

Takeru scrambled backwards, clutching his staff. "Get away! Don't come any closer!"

"Hand over the Eyecon, boy," one of the hulking figures in front of him said. His companion, wielding a trident, hopped forward, cackling.

"This thing?" Takeru asked, stealing a glance at the sphere in his hand. "My dad gave this to me. I'm not gonna let you have it!"

"Young master!" Onari and Akari had arrived at the scene. "You must run! You cannot handle them!"

"What's going on?" Akari asked, frightened. She saw Takeru swinging at empty air. "What's he doing?"

Takeru kept trying to hit them, but to no avail. He was losing ground fast. The monster that spoke earlier—he had a sword for an arm—spoke again. "One last chance, boy."

"I'm not going to give up that easily!" Takeru shouted, panicked. "Get away!"

"Then you'll die as a stain on my sword," the sword-armed monster said simply. He raised his blade. Takeru thrust out his rod in desperation.

A rock flew through the air and smacked into the monster's head. He turned, angered. "Who dares?"

Reimu stood in the forest pathway, juggling a rock in one hand. "Hey, Ganma. I was told I gotta exterminate you if I want to come back to life. No hard feelings."

"That one has an Eyecon!" the trident-wielding Ganma hissed. "Give it to us!"

"Sorry, but no thanks," Reimu deadpanned as she formed a handsign, her Ghost Driver burning to life. "I'd rather take yours." She loaded her Eyecon—Yurusen had told her it was called the Self or Watashi Eyecon—and pumped the lever. "Henshin!"

Once again, a strange black armor adorned with glowing orange accents formed around her. She felt the strange jacket slide over her shoulders and the mask click into place, causing a rush of power to surge through her. "Ghost bustin' time," she announced.

The Yari Ganma, she decided to call it, thrust his spear at her stomach. Dodging it, she threw a quick couple of punches at it, only to be interrupted by the sword-arm-Ganma's slash. "Hey, eyeball," she called out to Yurusen as she rolled between the Ganma's attacks, "Do I have anything that'll help me out here?"

The mischievous spirit poofed above her. "Well, you _can_ fly," she said.

"What!?" Reimu gowled angrily. "Why didn't you tell me that sooner?"

"You didn't ask~" Yurusen grinned its toothy grin. "Also put you hand next to your Driver's eye."

Still ticked, Reimu rolled away from her two foes and did as instructed. Immediately, a glyph formed and spat out strange-looking sword. "Huh. Uh, I've never used a sword before," she turned to the wraith.

"Not my problem~" Yurusen chortled from its perch high in the trees.

"Ugh, whatever." Reimu swung the sword as she would her purification rod, smacking the Yari Ganma's thrust away. "Huh, I could get used to this."

Reimu's second wind, combined with her new tool, pressed the Ganma back. Already a natural at flying, she used hit-and-run tactics to wear out her foes. "You little . . .!" the Yari Ganma growled, charging at her again. He leapt at her, thrusting his spear to kill.

Reimu pumped the lever of her Driver outwards, forming a mystical glyph in the air behind her. She made a quick hand sign, and then pushed the lever in. Feeling the familiar rush of energy in her foot, she rose to meet her opposition, twisting out of the way of his thrust and smashing him in the face with her heel. Landing, she was mildly surprised to see the white part of the Ganma's head and chest—now apparently some form of raiment—fall off, revealing a black creature with blue eyes. However, she had no time to contemplate this thing's mysterious existence, for in the next instant it exploded into a cloud of inky black. "Ghost busted," she announced, before looking around for the other. "Hey, where'd he go?"

"He took off after Takeru while you were occupied with the other," Yurusen called out, pointing with its stubby little arm-nubs. "They went that way."

Reimu cursed and lifted off in the direction they went. She quickly found them—it appeared that in an attempt to outrun the Ganma, Takeru had gone _back_ to the shrine, hopped on his motorcycle, and booked it down to the beach. The monster once again had him cornered, preparing to strike him down. Reimu dove feetfirst, her armored soles smashing into the thing from behind. "Really, again?"

"I thought if I went to the beach, the similarity to Musashi's situation would inspire me to defeat him," he muttered in shame. "It's stupid, I know."

She sighed. "Look. There's no shame in running. But throwing your life away is stupid."

"I know, and yet . . . !" He pounded the sand. "I can't do anything! I can't even be a good ghost hunter like this!"

His necklace shone with a red light. "What's that?" Reimu asked, curious.

"The handguard from Musashi's sword," he said, amazed. "What's going on?"

Once again, Yurusen interjected from out of sight. "Hey, Reimu! Quick, draw an eye seal on that thing with your fingers!"

Confused, Reimu did as she was told. Both human and former human alike were surprised as the guard dissolved into red mist and coalesced into yet another weird jacket-thing.

"W-what is that!?" Takeru scrambled back.

"I don't know!"

"You've synchronized with Musashi's spirit," Sage's voice boomed. Glancing around, they found an image of him floating over the waters. "Don his Parka Ghost to be filled with his powers and experience."

Reimu shrugged and placed her hand on the Driver. "Musashi! Come!"

The red Parka Ghost obeyed, descending into her Driver and, to their surprise, turning into an Eyecon. "Is this . . . ?"

Having been forgotten for the moment, the Katana Ganma roared a challenge. He was now surrounded by several other Ganma—they seemed to be lacking the fine raiment that he had donned. "Come! Meet your death upon my edge!"

"Now's a good a time as always," Reimu shrugged. She popped out her Eyecon before loading in Musashi's. "AYE!" the Driver cheerfully sang out. "Get ready people!" Reimu's orange parka disappeared, and the red Musashi parka appeared in front of her, slashing at the oncoming horde of Ganma—with what, Reimu couldn't exactly tell. She pressed the lever.

"Eyes open! Musashi!" She felt the Parka Ghost equip itself, feeling an odd satisfaction as the face-mask clicked into place. "Swords swinging! Blades ringing! It's the master swordsman!"

She felt a rush of power fill her, like before—though this time, it felt different. "Nice," she said, summoning her sword. Before she could even think about it, she had already split apart the weapon into two swords. "So this is what it feels like to be Youmu."

"Unrivaled under the heavens," Takeru said in amazement. "The power of Musashi!"

She easily cut through the oncoming horde of shambling Ganma. She was surprised to feel her hands moving in such ways, striking in manners she didn't think she was capable of doing. Deciding to go along with it, she soon found herself pointing a blade at the Katana Ganma—the only one left standing. "Come at me!"

The Ganma growled and charged, swinging an arm blade down. She twisted and delivered two shallow cuts, causing him to bleed the same inky-black blood the rest of the Ganma had bled. Each time he attacked, she counterattacked. No wasted movement, no lost time. Each strike was a work of art, honed to perfection by years of practice—Musashi's practice. The monstrous wraith was sent rolling, howling in pain as Reimu stood over it.

"Have the sword make eye contact with the belt!" Yurusen's shrill voice cried out. Reimu glanced at her weapon—indeed, it did have a strange eye-shaped symbol on the hilt. She glanced at her Belt—indeed, it did have a strange eye-shaped part. She lined the weapon up as instructed, and felt a rush of power fill her. She moved her weapons into a stance as a red glyph blazed to life behind her. Even as the Ganma, having gotten to its feet, charged again, in one last, desperate move, she held out her blades, which glowed red with the glyph's red energy. Ducking out of the way of the sword-armed foe's attack, she raised her blades and crossed them. "Omega Slash!" her Driver announced as her finger brushed against a button on the sword. She brought her swords down, scoring a red cross on the thing's chest. With a cry of pain, the Katana Ganma flew back, launching its own Parka up and exploding into an inky black mess. Out of the corner of her mask, Reimu noticed a practice sword fall to the ground, along with what seemed to be an Eyecon—which promptly shattered.

Reimu collapsed. "That . . . was exhausting," she grubled.

Takeru scrambled over to her. "That was amazing!" he gushed. "You were like Musashi and everything!"

"Shut up," she moaned. "My head hurts."

As Reimu lay on the beach and Takeru flapped his tongue, a pair of onlookers surveyed the scene, unknown to either of them.

"You didn't say anything about a meddler," a dark-haired man in odd raiment spoke to his companion. The other, an older man in a dark coat and hat, simply snarled with maligned teeth. The pair walked away, vanishing into the evening sun.

* * *

Back at the shrine, the bald monk and the loud woman—whom Reimu had come to learn as Onari and Akari—were fussing over Takeru, making sure he wasn't hurt or anything.

"I told you, I'm all right!" he stressed. "If you act like this, I won't be able to become a proper ghost hunter!"

Reimu sighed. "Takeru, tell them to pipe down. It's getting on my nerves."

"I'm _trying_ ," he responded. "They're not listening to me."

"Master Takeru, who are you talking to?" Onari looked about. "There's nobody there."

"A ghost," was the simple reply.

Onari freaked out, scrabbling about to find said specter. Akari, on the other hand, adamantly denied Takeru's words. "There's no such thing as ghosts. They're not scientific," she shot back. "Akari, I almost died to one this afternoon. I'm fairly certain they exist," Takeru deadpanned. "You always claimed alchemy didn't exist, yet look at that incident from a few years back."

"That never happened!" she denied. "It was some feat of ancient science, not magical hocus-pocus!"

Reimu wanted to scream, but she was too tired. "Hey, eyeball. How do I make them shut up?"

Yurusen floated up through the ground. "Well, whether or not they can see you depends on your emotional state. If you're moping about like you are, they can't see ya!"

"I'm not moping! Just tired!" she snapped. Akari and Onari's heads shot in her direction. "Oh," she said in a small voice.

"Who are you!?" Onari shreiked. Akari immediately ran over. "Where did you come from? Why are you here?"  
"Just shut up," she moaned. "It's too loud with you three making such a racket."

Onari went off on another tangent about how he wasn't noisy while Akari smugly turned to Takeru. "See? She's real. Not a ghost."

Exasperated, Reimu let herself go incorporeal again. Physical, intangible. Solid, phantasmical. "You convinced yet?" Reimu asked the scientist.

"That's not—there's a reasonable explanation for—" Akari stammered, making several noises Reimu didn't think the human body was capable of making, and promptly collapsed. "Reimu, next time, please refrain from causing her to overload," Takeru said as he propped her up. "Onari, can you take care of her?"

With Onari taking care of Akari, Takeru and Reimu retired to the basement. "So what now?"

"Welcome back~" Sage greeted them.

Doing a double take, Reimu ran down the stairs. "Wait, what are you doing here, old man?"

"I just finished moving in, so I'm pretty tired," he said, relaxing under a kotatsu that wasn't there before. He was wearing some kind of janitor's outfit in replacement for his flowing robes.

"Reimu, who is this?" Takeru asked hesitantly.  
"The weirdo that gave me this," she said, holding out her Eyecon. "It holds my soul, I think."

"Yeah, about that," Sage scratched the back of his head. "I forgot to mention you only have ninety-nine days to gather all fifteen, or you won't be able to come back to life."

" _What!?_ " Reimu demanded. "Why didn't you tell me that before!?"

"Sorry, sorry," Sage laughed, not sounding sorry at all. "It must've slipped my mind."

"Ugh!" she threw her hands up in frustration. "Is there anything _else_ I need to know?"

"Nothing for now!" he said cheerfully. "Actually, since today's just about over, you really only have 98 days left."

"Thanks for the help," she grumbled. Ignoring a cheerful "Anytime!" she climbed the steps to the upper loft where Takeru was reading his book. "What are you doing?"

"Fifteen Eyecons for fifteen historical figures," he said, perusing through his book. "I know now why that number triggered something in the back of my head."

"It did?"

"Take a look," he said, ignoring her. He held it open to Musashi. "See anything?"

"Uh, no? Oh, the page number is circled."

"Exactly." He flipped to another one—Sir Isaac Newtwon. "And this?"

"Another page circled. Aaaand why is that important?"

"There are fifteen circled pages," he said. "It's just a hunch, but that might be our first clue to gathering all fifteen." Takeru frowned. "But why did Dad know that? And why did he send me this?" he glanced at the blank Eyecon on the table.

Reimu ignored him, electing to instead raid a few cabinets and drawers scattered about. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"I need a change of clothes," she replied simply. "I'm not going to wear this for a hundred days."

"What makes you think we've got clothes down here?" he said. "We can go shopping later or something."

A package fell through the roof and onto Takeru's head. Rubbing the sore spot, he picked it up. "It's for you," he said, handing it to Reimu. She read the note aloud. "Reimu, I've taken the liberty to throw a few outfits together for you. Think of it as a special favor. Lots of love, Yuyuko~." She made a face. "Ew, there's a lipstick mark."

"I guess that takes care of that," Takeru shrugged.

"I guess," Reimu plopped down onto the metal floor. "Ugh, what did I get myself into this time?"

* * *

Back in Gensokyo, uncertainty was in the air. Even the humans and lesser youkai could sense something was amiss. In Rinnosuke's shop, several of the higher-ups had conjured.

"So what exactly is going on?" Byakuren asked, thanking Rinnosuke for the tea he set out. "Something's happened-something that could affect Gensokyo's balance in tremendous ways."

Yakumo Ran nodded. "Unfortunately, we're almost at a worst-case scenario. The Shrine Maiden has been killed."

Several gasps went around the table. "That can't be," Miko said in disbelief.  
"That's why Sakyua looked so horrible when she returned," Remilia realized. To her side, Kanako and Suwako nodded—Sanae was in just as bad a condition. "They may have taken it pretty hard."

"They may have not been the closest of friends—or friends at all, really—but they certainly respected each other as allies and rivals," Eirin said. "In fact, I can say that about most everyone in Gensokyo. We may have all had our personal disputes with the miko, but I am certain I speak for everyone present, at the very least, when I say that Reimu was a respectable peacekeeper and an important part of our lives."

The group was silent for a few seconds. Then Byakuren spoke up. "Rinnosuke, how is Marisa?"

The half-youkai sighed. "Not good. She looked a mess when she arrived yesterday, and she basically spent all night crying. She's currently asleep." He gave a tired half-smile. "She has a rather sensitive side, you know."

"What about the barrier?" Yuuka brought up. "Isn't it tied to the maiden's life force?"

"About that," Ran began, "Currently, Yukari is in hibernation, using her own power to fix the barrier. It's unstable, but for now it will hold. And second—"

"Second, Reimu's currently a ghost~" the group turned their attention towards the arrival of the Netherworld's princess. "And she's got less than one hundred days to come back, or it's poof~"

This caused a great ruckus among those gathered. The people present argued and bickered for a few minutes before Ran shouted above the din, "Enough!"

They all turned to pay attention. "Yes, Reimu is alive—in a sense. Currently, she is in the outside, looking for artifacts to restore her life." Ran raised a finger to quell the talking. "However, you have been called here for none of those reasons. If that were the case by itself, the Yakumo family would have no need to reveal its weakness to you all. No, what comes next is actually far worse." That got their attention. "What killed the shrine maiden wasn't of Gensokyo—nor was it of the outside world as we know it. We have taken to calling it the World of the Ganma, named after the denizens. It is a place filled with restless spirits, drawn towards rich life and magic," she said. "They've taken an interest in this Land of Illusions and they want it for their own—the reason for which we presently do not know why."

Suddenly a door slammed and they could all hear retreating steps. Rinnosuke ran to a back room, only to return disturbed. "That was Marisa. She must have heard you say that Reimu was technically alive in the outside. I'm guessing she means to break through the barrier—and given its weakened state, it's something she'll be able to do."

"Rinnosuke, wait," Ran said. "I can't! I have to stop her before she hurts herself! She doesn't know what's out there!"

"Don't worry, I'll get a guy on it," a new voice piped up. The assembled crowd turned towards a figure that had been standing in the shadows of a corner of the shop, unnoticed. "Who are you?" demanded Remilia.

"Some help I brought in from the outside," Ran stated. "Someone who has dealt with similar situations in the past."

"Yeah, Miss Fox hired me as a specialist, so to speak." The person wore tight pink pants and a leather jacket over a flower-patterned shirt. Two rings glowed softly on each hand. "A little bit of hope, so to say."

"Excuse me, but who are you? I can sense immense magical power coming from you." Yuuka tilted her head.

Soma Haruto smirked. "Just a wizard."


	3. Chapter 3: Shadow of the Specter

**Chapter 3**

Two weeks had passed since Reimu officially began on her quest to collect the fifteen Eyecons. Despite having a guidebook and the knowledge of how the Eyecons were made (an item relating to the historical figure, a person who has strong feelings and emotions towards said figure, and Kamen Rider Ghost's eye-seal), they had barely made any progress of their own volition, instead running into several Eyecons through pure luck. To that end, Onari decided to convert the temple into a paranormal investigations group-the Mysterious Phenomenon Institute. Akari remained skeptical of the whole situation, determined to prove there was a natural and physical reason for all of this.

"So we currently have Musashi, Edison, Robin Hood, and Newton," Takeru confirmed. "And that blue horned guy has Nobunaga."

Reimu let out a huff. "What was his deal, anyways? He just shows up and takes it. We did all the hard work."

"I'm not sure," Takeru admitted. "But anyways, we'll just have to wait for the next request. Where there's strange occurrences, there's Ganma. Where there's Ganma, there's an Eyecon."

Reimu nods and leans back, just as Onari calls out for them. The hunt had begun.

 **Somewhere in the outside world, ten days prior**

Marisa slowly blinked awake. "Ow, my head," she grumbled. "What-what happened?"

"Rise and shine," a voice said. She could instantly tell something was off-she didn't know too many guys. "You've been asleep for a couple days. Take it easy."

She looked around confused. She was in some sort of white room. There was a window to the outside-the glare prevented her from seeing much-and she could see a curtain just to her side. She seemed to be in a bed of some sorts.

"You're in a hospital," the man explained. Blinking a few times, the witch finally spied a sharply-dressed man sitting across from her in a chair. He wore a black waistcoat over a white striped button-down shirt, black slacks, and a red tie. Perched atop his head was a black fedora. "Maybe not quite the ones you're used to, but a hospital all the same."

"Where am I?" Marisa sat up before wincing. "Ow."

"Like I said, take it easy," he sighed. "You were found several days ago in the Yatsugatake mountains, half-dead. You're lucky we were there."

"Yatsu . . . ?" Marisa didn't know of any such mountain range-and then it hit her. "I find her! I gotta find-" pain lanced through her skull again.

"Relax. Reimu's fine." The man eased her back down. "You can't do anything right now, anyways. You have to rest."

"How . . . ? Who are you?"

The man smirked. "Hidari Shotaro, detective, at your service."

The next few days Marisa recovered in the hospital, learning some necessities about the Outside World she'd have to know in order to not stick out like a sore thumb. When she was discharged, Shotaro offered his place to stay for the time being, to which she hesitantly agreed. They arrived via motorcycle at a small hole-in-the wall dive. "And I thought my place was run down," Marisa said. Shotaro gave her an unamused look and parked the bike. "Welcome to my humble home," he said, opening the door for her.

Inside wasn't special. It was a small apartment, fit for only a few people. "So you live by yourself?" Marisa asked. "Seems kinda lonely."

"I have a roommate, so to speak. He's currently out," he said. "Want some coffee?"

"Er, no thanks," she said. "I'm still not quite used to this whole 'outside world' business. And how you know of Gensokyo."

"Friends in high places," Shotaro said. "Ah, here's one now." He pulled out his ringing cellphone. "Haruto? Yeah, we're back. Yup, she's up and around. Recovered pretty quickly too." Shotaro pauses. "Hm? Yeah, here." He holds out the phone. "It's for you."

She hesitantly took it and spoke into it-she was familiar with the concept of the device thanks to Kourin-and said a tentative, "Hello?"

"Ah, is this Marisa?" a slightly bemused male voice answered her back. "This is Soma Haruto. Some of the big shots in your place hired me for a certain situation, and brought me over to Gensokyo. Lovely place, by the way."

"Er, thanks? But what-"

"Ah, right. Your boyfriend wants to talk to you."

"I don't have a boyfriend-"

"Marisa?" Kourin's worried voice interrupted her. "Thank the gods you're alright. I was so worried when you ran away."

"I'm sorry, Kourin," she said, ashamed. "But Reimu-!"

"Is fine," he said. "She has her own things to do. Things you can't help with."

"But-!"

" _Marisa."_ There was an edge to his voice that told her to calm down and listen. "She's all right. You know that she wouldn't want you to help her-she's proud, you know."

"Yeah," Marisa admitted. "I'll trust you, Kourin."

She couldn't see him, but she knew he was smiling. "How are you feeling?"

"A little sore, but otherwise ok," she said.

"That's great to hear," she heard him sigh in relief. "Actually, I have something to request of you."

"What is it?" Rinnosuke wasn't the type to ask for favors lightly.

"We were supposed to send someone to the outside world anyways for a certain task. We had planned on sending someone else, but I thought I might ask you since you're already there."

"Sure, what is it?"

"You're not going to ask what it is first?" came Kourin's bemused voice.

"Since you asked me I know it can't have been that bad," she replied. She smugly added, "Besides. If you had tried to stop me from doing it I wouldn't have listened to you."

He sighed. "Of course. Well, listen to Mr. Hidari for the time being. He'll fill you in."

"Okay. And Kourin?" she hesitated, embarrassed.

"What is it?"

"Thanks for being worried about me."

He chuckled. "Anytime, Marisa."

The line went dead, and she handed the phone back to Shotaro. He had been silent the entire time, watching the exchange unfold. "You're lucky you have someone worrying about you," he said as he took the phone back.

"Yeah," she admitted. "Kourin's great. He's like the dad I should have had."

The detective decided not to comment on that. Hanging up his hat, he went to sit at a desk in the corner of the room. "So. You're our partner for this joint operation, huh?"

"I guess," she sits down on the couch. She took off her own hat and placed it next to her. "So what exactly are you? Normal people don't have connections to Gensokyo."

"Well, you see-"

Shotaro wouldn't get another word in, as the door suddenly banged open, startling Marisa and causing the detective to jump. "Hidari Shotaro!" said a rather angry female voice. "I leave you alone for _one_ minute, and you're off kidnapping maidens! Shame on you!"

"Akiko!" Shotaro yelled back. "Stop barging in unannounced! Don't you have better things to do!?"

"Don't try to dodge the question, mister!" In walked a small, slender woman who had a presence far larger than her stature. She waved a slipper angrily into the man's face. "Philip told me you were taking this girl home from the hospital, you creep!" She zipped on over to Marisa surprisingly fast. "How are you feeling? He hasn't done anything weird to you, has he?"

"Uh," the bewildered witch replied smartly. "No?"

She looked at her with irritating sympathy, and abruptly stormed off to yell at Shotaro again. "Look at her! She's traumatized!"

"She's not," he groaned, flopping down into his chair. "She came willingly-"

"Seducing young maidens!?" she shrieked. "Are you that lonely you-" she gasped. "Did my absence leave you that wanting!? No! I can't! I'm loyal to Ryuu!"

With an exasperated sigh, Shotaro put his head in his hands. "Philip. I know you're there. Get in here."

In walked a gangly teenager clad in women's fashion. "Hey, Shotaro," he said far too calmly. "Akiko's amusing. I told her you picked up the Gensokyian and she freaked out."

"You know about Gensokyo, too?" Marisa asked, surprised.  
"Gensokyo. Created in 1885 by one Yakumo Yukari." The teenager rattled off to her surprise. "Currently home to youkai and that which would be considered fantasy in our own world."

"You know your stuff," she said, impressed. "How?"

Philip began to answer, but Shotaro piped up over Akiko's ranting, "He's a walking encyclopedia-long story."

He stood up, ignoring the angry pipsqueak beside him. "So you're our correspondent from Gensokyo. You'll be helping us on this case: the Case of the Otherworldly Spirits."

"That's a lame name," Philip replied, not looking up from the book he was reading.

"Shut it," Shotaro shot back. "In any case, there are a few things you should know. While there are many things we do know about your home, we don't know everything. We'll need your assistance in our future endeavors. Likewise, your home needs our help-which is why we have a man over on the other side."

Marisa nodded. "All right. But who are you guys exactly?"

"We are," he paused for dramatic effect, "Warriors of justice, defeating evil from the shadows. Mere urban legends to the public. Masked forces of good!" He posed, saluting across his chest. "We are . . . Kamen Riders."

A beat.

"You mean that children's thing Sanae likes?" Marisa tilted her head.

"Of course," he grumbled. "Yes, there was a TV show. It was adapted from accounts from some of the older Riders."

"Oh, okay."

Shotaro sighed, his momentum gone. "You, a magician well-versed in youkai extermination, will be helping us, the Kamen Riders, out with a threat to both the outside world and your home. Long story short, the residents of another world have started to invade this one. Strange spiritual activity, invisible spirits, and general paranormal pandemonium. Sound familiar?"

Reimu's broken body flashed through Marisa's mind. "Yeah."

He nodded. "We're working to find out _what_ exactly is going on and how to stop it. We'll investigate things from both inside and outside Gensokyo. Even as your friend attempts to come back to life, it's our job to find the root of the problem and exterminate it." Shotaro gave a wry smile. "And that's where you, as a professional, come in. Sound good?"  
She nods after a second. "I'm in."

Akiko, having fallen silent for that last bit, pipes up. "Wait, you said you were a witch. You mean just a Gaia Memory user, right?"

Marisa snapped, producing a shower of sparks. "Nope. What's that?"

Her eyes widened. "I didn't hear anything about this."

"See?" Shotaro sighed as Philip chuckled. "I didn't kidnap her, you loon." Turning to Marisa, he said. "First thing's first, you're going to meet who you're going to be working with. Philip, what's the status on the others?"  
"Tomari and Kisaragi are available," Philip said without looking up. "Hino, as always, is gone, but he does have internet for Skype-at least for now. Kazuraba is unavailable, as is Godai. Tsugami should be available. Soma is in Gensokyo, as you know. I haven't heard back on the others. Would you like me to do a lookup?"

"No, that's fine," Shotaro dismissed.

"Who? What?" Marisa asked.

"The other Riders," Shotaro said. "You'll be meeting them soon enough."

Marisa nodded. As the other three went on to discuss other things, a wave of tiredness overtook her. She leaned back, pulled the brim of her hat over her eyes, and fell asleep.

* * *

 **Present**

"Get back here!" Reimu cried, flying after the retreating car. The Machine Gun Ganma, as he had been christened due to a Tommy Gun on his arm, had fled in the backseat of a white Mercedes. She swerved out of the way of his gunshots, firing back with the Gan Gun Saber in gun mode. The spectral shots missed their mark, due to Ganma swerving back and forth between cars on the highway.

"Reimu, wait!" Takeru shouted. He followed behind her on motorcycle-back. "You're going to hit the civilians!"

"Well, what am I supposed to do!?" she shouted back. They sped down the road, Takeru weaving through traffic. "He's getting away!"

Takeru shouted something back, but in that moment, Reimu jerked back, diving low. Suddenly a blue-hooded figure on a motorcycle soared through where she was initially.

"You," Reimu growled. She touched down, glaring at the blue man through her mask. The man didn't respond, just revving up his motorcycle and zooming away. She grabbed onto Takeru from behind. "Floor it!"

The two motorcyclists raced, ramming into each other in an attempt to knock each other off. The empty road stretched on even as they dueled atop their steel horses. Yet, it was the living flesh that lost in the battle of the spirits, with Takeru spiraling out of control after the blue rider smashed into his machine. Reimu rolled and recovered, sparing a glance to make sure Takeru was okay-and other than a little bit of tumbling, he was thankfully fine. "You got questions to answer, bub," she demanded to the hooded, horned figure striding towards her. "And I want the Nobunaga Eyecon back." She rusehd in.

Reimu found herself unable to hit him. Every punch she threw was deflected, every blow blocked. The twin-horned man slapped her aside. "Say something!"

Reimu threw another punch, which was caught by an armored fist. "You're weak," he said in a taunting tone. Pissed, Reimu tried to throw another punch-but he was faster. His fist smashed across her chin, and, for a moment, Reimu saw stars. "I've seen your fighting style. All you do is dodge. But what about something you can't avoid?"

Now Reimu was fully enraged. Summoning the Gangun sword, she slashed widely at him, which he easily dodged. "Your defense is worthless and your attacks are sloppy."

"Shut up!" she screamed. She charged at him again, her sloppy movements leading him to knock her to the floor. Standing up, she summoned an Eyecon. "Edison!"

Even as the Ghost Driver sang out "Electrical Inspiration! King of Invention!" her opponent held up a familiar orb-shaped trinket. "That's the Nobunaga Eyecon!" Takeru shouted, having recovered somewhat. "Don't tell me he can Ghost Change too!"

His answer was a resounding "My conquering drama! Victory at Okehazama!"

She picked up her fallen sword. "Take this, you freak!" She snarled, firing electrical bullets at him. None of them hit their mark-they were deflected as her opponent summoned a weapon as well.

"The Gangun Hand," he gloated. "A weapon far superior to that multipurpose tool mercenaries use."

"We'll see about that!" Reimu scanned her weapon across her Driver. "Take this, you blue freak!"

"Omega Shoot: 「Yin-Yang Lightning」!"

"Omega Spark!"

Reimu's blast of electricity met a swarm of lasers, fired by copies of the rifle-like Gangun Hand and was overwhelmed. She cried out as a storm of shots slammed into her. Even as her armor dissipated into black ink and she rolled across the ground, the blue-hooded man opened his own Driver and cancelled his transformation. The armor dissolved, revealing a thin man in a black-and-blue jumpsuit. He looked down at his fallen opposition. "I am Specter," he said. "And I will be taking those Eyecons."

Reimu groaned and tried to rise, reaching out for the fallen Edison Eyecon. A sudden boot on her wrist caused her to cry out in pain. "You're not worthy of the wish," he said. "You're just using it to save your own skin."

"N-no . . ." she gasps.

"Would you be willing to put someone else's life over your own?" At the shrine maiden's silence, he snorted. "That's what I thought." He brought his boot back.

"Stop!" Suddenly Takeru tackled Specter from the side, knocking him over. The ghost hunter stumbled before placing himself in the way. "You're the person from the shrine earlier! Why are you doing this?"

"It has nothing to do with you, ghost hunter," Specter replied, getting up. "Move."

Takeru refused. Specter looked like he was about to go ahead and deck the kid, but he sighed. "I'll be back," he warned. "For the rest of the Eyecons." He strode away, but not before calling out, "You're too soft, hunter."

"What's his problem?" Takeru muttered before turning back to Reimu. "Reimu! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she gritted her teeth as she tried to stand up. "Nothing I haven't had before."

The two made their way back to the shrine, Reimu somehow bleeding despite being a ghost. After the initial freak-out by Akari and Onari, they tried to bandage her up the best they could. It seemed that they managed to stop the ghost-blood-for now, at least. "I have no clue how this is happening," Akari muttered. "But she seems to be okay."

Reimu hadn't said a word throughout all of this, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. "Hey, Reimu?" Takeru asked. "What's wrong?"

Reimu shot up, startling Takeru. "Argh! That guy just pisses me off!"

"Specter?" Takeru asked, brushing himself off. "Well, he did beat you."

"His attitude! His superiority! His stupid face!" Reimu punched a pole and winced. "Ow! I swear, I'm gonna blow him to the Sanzu River the next time we meet."

"Uh, okay."

Reimu stormed off, fuming. Takeru just sighed. "Well, there she goes."

"She's quite a handful," Onari commented, leaning against a post.

"She's a bit rough around the edges, but still good at heart." Takeru agreed. "But this Specter guy worries me. And I can't help but feel I know him from somewhere."

"Answers will come in due time, Master Takeru," the monk replied. "For now, you must have patience."

Takeru nodded and looked to the sky, wondering what the future would bring.

* * *

Haruto leafed through an ancient tome. "Fascinating stuff," he complimented.

"Of course it is," came the answer of the Great Unmoving Library. "It's the collection I've been gathering throughout my entire life."

After the meeting, Remilia had allowed Haruto to come to the Scarlet Devil Mansion to gather the info he wanted. After enjoying a friendly spar with the gatekeeper and a spot of tea from the maid, he was taken to the mansion's expansive library. Exchanging a terse word with the taciturn librarian, Haruto set about perusing through magical tomes to find what he needed.

"This stuff on the creation of artificial life is fascinating," the wizard said while munching on a donut. "I know a thing or two about alchemy myself."

"Hm?" Patchouli looked up from what she was reading. "Ah, that. That bogus tome."

"Bogus? How so?"

"It claims to be able to fix homunculi broken beyond repair," she dismissed. "It even talks about magical constructs gaining souls. Even for this place that's fantasy."

Haruto smiled a little. "Maybe, maybe not. Mind if I borrow this? For a friend."

"Sure, as long as you bring it back-unlike a certain _other_ magician I know."

Koakuma, Patchouli's ever-present aide, offered, "More tea, Mr. Soma?"

"Ah, thanks," he said, replacing his cup. "Miss Knowledge, you're lucky to have such a lovely assistant."

"Aw, you're too kind," she says, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

"Please, cease your pointless flirting and get back to work," the librarian deadpanned annoyed.

Sharing a chuckle with Koakuma, Haruto went back to reading before piping up, "Little Devil? Really? I know she's a succubus, but c'mon."

"She's the one who chose the name," came the reply.

He looked at said demon, who just shrugged. He began his search anew. "Now this is something," he mutters. "The Kingdom of the Great Eye."

"That thing?" Patchouli glanced up. "It's a record of a kingdom long gone, from over a thousand years ago."

"Hm," Haruto flips through it. "How interesting."

He got more engrossed the deeper he read. A kingdom worshipping the eye of a dead god. A mad king. A curse that would last for over a thousand years. "This could be what I'm searching for," Haruto muttered. "A key to-"

But that thought would have to wait, as an explosion rocked the west wing of the Library. "Oh no," Patchouli paled. "She got free."

"Who?"

"Hey, I was right!" A childish giggle echoed through the library. Fairy maids scattered everywhere. "Big Sis can't fool me! There's a nice-smelling toy here!"

Patchouli attempted to stand, but doubled over from a coughing fit. "Damn, not now!"

"Trouble?" Haruto closed the book and set it aside. "Don't worry, I got this."

"You can't. Flandre Scarlet is a nightmare. Even if you're a magus, she'll still rip you apart!"

He smirked. "I'm too stubborn to die."

"There you are!" the same girlish squeal was accompanied by a frightening visage-a blonde child in a red dress, crystalline wings glistening in the library's magical light. A twisted, delightful grin graced her features, as a child on Christmas day. Even at this distance Haruto could feel her radiating power. A bead of sweat ran down. "Hey, mister. You're not going to break, right? All my other toys break and end up as messy stains on the wall. Sakuya always yells at me when that happens." She giggles. "Come on! Let's play!"

Haruto held up a hand, rings glinting on his finger. They burned with a magical light. "Well, now. I've always been told I've been good with kids, and I'm pretty good at soccer." The wizard smirked. "Yeah, I'll play with you. But don't complain when you bite off more than you can chew."

Amidst the wall of flame that descended upon him, Patchouli heard a single word cut through the chaos. A lone invocation, carrying with it power and promise of something else-hope.

" _Henshin._ "

* * *

"How dare you mess with _mi familia!_ " The Machine Gun Ganma's bullets peppered the ground in front of Reimu, causing her to leap to the side. "You're a dead man!"

She charged, deflecting his bullets with her sword. "Take this, All Crapon!"

"Al Capone!" Takeru said, dodging a swing from a Ganma Commando. He responded by embedding an axe blade in its gut, causing it to disappear in a burst of black ink. "Seriously, get their names right! That's the fifth time!"

Reimu only gave a cry as she knocked the Empowered Ganma back with a slash. "I'm weak, huh!? I can't fight, huh!?"

Takeru raised an eyebrow. "I think she has some issues to work out."

"What was that?!"

"Nothing!"

Reimu went on to bash around the Ganma a bit before deciding that she had had enough. "Newton, let's go!"

But before she could Ghost Change, a scream gave her pause. Turning, she winced behind her mask at the sight of Akari and Onari- _what are they doing here_ -held hostage by the footsoldier ghosts. Takeru was on the ground, bleeding from a wound to the head.

"Make one move and your friends are dead," the Machine Gun Ganma gloated.

"That's playing dirty," she growled.

"You gotta do whatever it takes if you want to win, girlie," he said. Taking advantage, of her hesitation, he revved up his arm gun and fired.

Reimu flew back, smashing into the wall. She ignored the cries of her companions as she struggled to rise. Then she froze at the sound of footsteps.

Specter gazed dispassionately at the scene in front of him, casually burning his Ghost Driver to life with a hand flick. "Henshin," he said, dropping an Eyecon in the Driver and pulling the lever, thrusting his hand out to the side. Spectral blue armor formed around him as the Driver sang out "Ready, go! Hellbent! Pulse-pounding ghost!" With the Parka Ghost settling onto him and his horned face clicking into place, the other Rider once again stood before them.

"Specter! What are you doing here!?" the Ganma growled. "Whatever it is, don't interfere. I'm getting revenge for _mi familia, capiche?"_

"Move." Specter brushed him aside. Enraged, the Ganma fired upon the Rider's back. Reimu was at once thrilled and relieved to see him take damage-he could be hit, after all. The blue ghost Rider snapped his head up, supposedly glaring at the one who had dared to shoot him. Simultaneously changing out his current Eyecon with a light blue one and summoning the Gangun Hand, he fired a few retaliatory shots with the weapon as the Driver sang "Triangular Pyramids! Do as the Pharaoh bids!"

What happened next came as a mild surprise to Reimu-though, looking back, she supposed that it shouldn't have. As the Ganma Commandos abandoned their hostages to rush Specter, he flipped the weapon upright-and a scythe blade extended from the tip. With a single slash, he cut the grunts down.

"You rat!" The Machine Gun Ganma reminded them of his existence with a burst of gunfire. Whirling around, Specter charged through the hail of bullets, spinning his scythe before relentlessly slashing away at the vengeful spirit. Specter didn't even give an inch-before Reimu knew it, Specter had trapped the Ganma in a pyramidal prison-and a blink later, all that was left was a broken eyecon and a burnt hat.

"Anyone who gets in my way will pay for it," Specter said, weapon slung across his shoulder, "No matter who they are." He turned to Reimu.

"I have a score to settle with you, jerkface," she growled, standing up. "Give that back!"

She could feel him smirk as he collected the dropped Newton Eyecon. "Come and get it."

With a snarl, she cranked open her Driver's lever and formed a hand sign, mystical eye-glyph blazing to life behind her. Specter copied her actions, forming his own blue glyph.

"Omega Drive!"

At the shout of the twin Ghost Drivers, both Riders lept at each other feet first. They stayed there, suspended for an instant. Then the force between their two kicks burst, knocking them back. Specter rolled and stood up. "A tad better," he allowed. "But still weak."

A smug chuckle resounded from Reimu's prone, armored form. "Gotcha." In her hands was a blank Eyecon-the kind similar to the one she had to begin with.

"You wouldn't dare." Specter sounded horrified.

"This is your soul, right? One wrong move and bam, straight to Shikieiki to you," she taunted. "If you know what's good for you, you won't-"

The next moment, she was flying through the air, her world ablaze. With a sickening crack, she slammed into the building wall. Not even able to hear the cries of her companions, she couldn't do anything as Specter began to rain upon her blow after blow as a man possessed. With a roar, he slammed his fist into her head. She heard a crack, and when her head stopped spinning, she was staring up at the world through a crack in her mask.

Specter snatched the fallen blank Eyecon from where it lay, and vanished without another word. Reimu was dimly aware of her name being called, but the pain was too much, and darkness overtook her.


	4. Chapter 4: Little Victories

**Chapter 4**

The last month or so hadn't gone well. Reimu had physically recovered from her defeat—but it seems her spirit hadn't. Despite managing to obtain a few more Eyecons—the Beethoven, Billy the Kid, and Benkei Eyecons—but they had not recovered the missing Edison, Newton, and Nobunaga Eyecons.

"Musashi, Edison, Robin Hood, Newton," Takeru said as he wrote in his book, "Nobunaga, Tutankhamen, Beethoven, Billy the Kid, and Benkei. That's nine in total."

"She has 45 days left," Akari said somberly. "If the rate we've been collecting them continues, we'll make it, but . . . " she bit her lip. "There's still the matter of getting the stolen ones back."

Onari nodded. "That and Lady Reimu has been . . . not herself lately."

The three were in the basement, seated around Takeru's work desk. It had been converted into Akari's scientific workbench for the time being, as she worked to find a way to debunk the supernaturality of spirits. So far, she had only come up with a way of making Ganma visible.

"Speaking of Reimu, how is she?" Akari asked. "I haven't seen her in a few days—ever since we got the Benkei Eyecon."

"She's on the roof," Takeru informed them. "She just stares off into the sky, not saying a word."

"You should go talk to her," Akari encouraged. "She trusts you, right?"

"Somehow I doubt that, but I'll try."

Takeru climbed up to the shrine roof, where, as he said earlier, Reimu was sulking. "Hey, Reimu. How are you?"

No response. He sighed and stood next to the ghost. "You know, you can't keep running forever."

That got her attention. "I'm not running!" she snapped, twisting to face him.

"Yes, you are. Every time we get a case you make sure to form the Eyecon as fast as humanly possible—we're barely given time to get our facts straight," Takeru shot back. "And every time Specter shows up, you hightail it out of there, stalling with an Omega Drive to bide time."

"Shut up." She turned away, bringing her knees to her chest.

He sat down by her. "Fear is normal, Reimu. Anyone would be scared after the beating he gave you. Heck, I was terrified, and I didn't even get hit once!"

Reimu mumbled something that he didn't hear, so he urged her to repeat it.

"It's not just me," she sighed. "I can't afford to lose. The entirety of Gensokyo is riding on my back. I have to win by any means necessary."

"I see," he said. "But that's not it, is it?"

"I hate you," she grumbled. "But you're right. It doesn't seem like it now, but I've stopped many incidents before—from someone stealing spring to a nuclear reactor going—well, nuclear. It's frustrating that I could lose to someone when I _know_ I've beaten stronger people before. Heck, I don't think I've ever had this much trouble. And I hate this feeling inside me—this paralyzing sensation that I haven't felt in a long, long time."

"Like I said, that's fear," he said. "And I feel it pretty much every time we get a call."

"Really?" she lifts her head.

"Really," he said. "I'm scared. I'm not like you. I'm not strong or skilled. I'm just a kid with an axe. But when I see you charge in all confident, it inspires me to push through."

She gave a little chuckle. "Well, look at you. You've come a long way from the brat who practically worshipped Mutsubishi."

"That's Musashi," he corrected. "And he's still great. I respect him more than _you_ , at least."

The two shared a small laugh. "I guess I've been worrying the others," Riemu admitted. "I can't save Gensokyo if I can't even take care of what's right in front of me."

The two descended and rejoined their companions in the temple. For a moment, all was right. Reimu had taken her first step as a Rider.

* * *

Specter stood atop a bridge, holding a blank Eyecon in a surprisingly gentle grasp. "I'm sorry, Kanon," he said softly.

The Eyecon glowed. "It's not your fault, bro," a feminine voice resonated. "You couldn't do a thing. It's not your fault I ended up like this."

He sighed. "I should've been stronger. I would've been able to do something about it."

The Eyecon was silent for a second. "Makoto," it—she? Began, hesitant.

"What is it, Kanon?"

"Why don't we team up with the Rider and the hunter? We shouldn't be fighting."

"There's only one wish, Kanon. They want the Eyecon for themselves. There's no way they'd sacrifice her chance to come back for someone else," Specter—know known as Makoto—said bitterly. "You heard it yourself. Ghost's silence proved that she wouldn't sacrifice herself for another."

"Bro, I'm sure she has her reasons," Kanon replied. "Why can't we just let them take the wish?"

"You know that's not how the wish works," he said. "One wish per summoning. And by the time we reclaim the Eyecons, your time limit will be up."

Kanon went silent. "Even still, you don't have to act this way."

"I'm not going to work with a coward who tried to murder you and then fled every time I found her," he snarled.

The Eyecon sighed. "Makoto . . . ."

Makoto was about to respond, but stopped himself as he felt a presence. "What do you want?"  
A strange, elderly man in a long, brown coat and an equally brown fedora stepped up to the edge of the bridge alongside them. "My name is Saionji. I have been offering my services to Mr. Alain. I trust you know him, yes?"

"Sir Alain?" echoed Kanon, as Makoto narrowed his eyes. "What of it?"  
"Were you not the two that were sent to the Ganma's world ten years ago?" he asked, pushing up spectacles. "In the experiment."

"What?" Makoto definitely wasn't expecting that.

"Tenkuji Ryu and I were working together, studying the Ganma ten years ago," came the reply. "We were what you would call Ghost Hunters."

"You knew Mr. Ryu?" Makoto asked.

"It seems that you two were victims of the experiment," Saionji muttered. "Strange, strange."

"It was an accident. What experiment?"

"I suppose you could call it that," he mused. He then noticed what was in Makoto's hand. "That Eyecon. I take it your sister's soul is in there?"

"How did you—" Makoto strode towards him, glaring. "Speak of my sister again in such a way and I'll end you."

"Ah, I understand. I shall take my leave." The odd man bowed. "If you'll excuse me."

As he walked away, Makoto frowned. "Experiment? What was he talking about?"

 _"_ _Kanon!" Makoto tried to pull his sister back from the portal, but his childlike body was rapidly losing strength. "Kanon!"_

 _The portal the Monolith had conjured sucked everything around them into it—papers, tools, books—even the small bodies of two children. Eventually, the suction overcame Makoto's slight frame, and the two of them were sucked inside._

 _Makoto held Kanon as all around them, sand and strange Eye-shaped things swirled. Even as they cried, a shadow loomed over them._

"Bro?" Kanon's worried voice snapped Makoto out of his memory. He shook his head. "Are you alright?"

"Don't worry," Makoto assured her. "I'm going to collect the fifteen we need to bring you back to life." With that he strode away, heart steeled for whatever he had to do. He'd get his sister back—at any cost.

* * *

"What's the plan?" Takeru said to the assembled group. Onari, Reimu, and Akari, now joined by two other monks, Narita and Shibuya, sat around a table, pondering their next move. Reimu, at Takeru's suggestion, had started training, in preparation for her and Specter's eventual encounter. "This is too tedious," she had complained after one session. "Things just normally go my way—or I rechallenge people until they do."

"That says a lot," Takeru had muttered.

"What!?"

"Nothing."

The group had drawn up a list of potential locations for Eyecons to spawn. They had initially mapped out some things based on the fifteen "luminaries," as Takeru had come to call them, based on the locations of items relating to the historical spirits. However, they decided to expand their search to other heroes in Takeru's book, as the possibility they'd get all fifteen seemed a bit too low for their liking.

"Visiting the movie lot?" Shibuya suggested. "I hear they have some Bruce Lee memorabilia."

"Maybe," Akari frowned. "What about the art museum? They have a Da Vinci exhibit going on—there's bound to be things we can buy.

"Can't we go back to the antique shop?" Reimu yawned. "There's gotta be something relating to someone there. I mean, that is where we found the bullet shell that turned into the Wally the Kid Eyecon."

"Billy the Kid," Takeru corrected. "And we were banned, remember?"

"So what? It's not like he remembers."

"Anyone would be bound to remember that same dress you wear day after day," deadpanned Takeru. "What happened to getting a change of clothing?"  
"Shut up! It's not like you can talk, floral hoodie."

"Hey!"

"Break it up, you two," Akari said firmly. "That's it, we're going shopping later."

"Hah!" Takeru smirked triumphantly at Reimu's despair.

"And you're coming too."

"Hah!" Reimu stuck her tongue out at Takeru as he moped.

"In any case," Akari continued, "We may find something while we're out. Onari, call us if we get a case. Takeru, Reimu, we're going."

"Now?" they complained.

"Yes, now."

One motorcycle ride later—Reimu wasn't quite sure what the Buddhists' fascinations with motorcycles were, _Looking at you, Byakuren_ —they arrived at the mall.

"You two are going to get a full wardrobe, so help me," Akari said firmly.

"Why?" Reimu stuck her finger in her ear.

"Because wearing the same thing over and over again is ridiculous."

"I have a wardrobe!" Takeru insisted. "I wear plenty of different shirts!"  
"I'm getting you different jackets. That one smells."

The two grumbled as Akari practically dragged them around the consumerism paradise that was a clothing store. Eventually, after a few hours or so, they stopped by a food court, now significantly heavier in the clothing department—but significantly lighter in the wallet. Akari left to go the bathroom, leaving the two defeated Ghost Hunters by themselves.

"Ugh, my wallet," Takeru moaned.

"So many clothes," Reimu lifted her head up from the table. "Is she always like this?"

"Yeah. Especially when it comes to science," he confirmed. "I've known her since we were kids. She's always been hardheaded and stubborn—once she sets her sights on something, she won't stop until she gets what she wants."

"Childhood friend, huh?" the shrine-maiden-turned-ghost responded. "You know, ain't that a fetish?"

Takeru chokes on what he was drinking, drawing some stares. "No, no," he said, waving his hand in front of him. "That's not the case between us. We're just friends."

Reimu gave a catlike grin. "Just friends, huh?" Takeru shot her a glare.

After a few minutes, she said, "You're lucky to have such a great childhood."

"Hm?"

"When I was a kid, I was constantly getting into fights," she reminisced. "My parents weren't around a lot, so I ended up going on a bunch of adventures with only my pet turtle for company."

"Really, now?" Takeru hadn't heard much of Reimu's past—of anything relating to before she became a ghost. "Do tell."

"Not much to say. I got into a bunch of fights, often fighting with—and against—a close friend of mine." She seemed almost surprised to hear herself say this. "Yeah, I guess she is a friend. Actually, things haven't changed much since then. Just add more people to beat up."

"Sounds exciting," Takeru said. "So you didn't know your parents well?"

"No. Yes." Reimu frowned. "Any time I try to think of them, my head hurts and my memory goes fuzzy. It's odd."

"Huh." Takeru nodded. "Strange."

"Yeah."

A moment of silence passed. "My dad raised me after my mom died," Takeru said. "He was strict, yet kind. It's because of him that I have my passion for history and the supernatural today."

Reimu nodded, indicating that he go on.

"There were these two other kids—Makoto and Kanon. We had a good time, playing and training. But they moved away one day. I haven't heard from them since." Takeru had a far-off look in his eyes. "My dad died around ten years ago. I found him atop a burning pyre, a hole in his chest." His breath hitched. "Before he passed on, he gave me Musashi's handguard and told me to study the Luminaries."

Reimu subconsciously grabbed his hand. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It _was_ ten years ago." He gave sad smile. "I'm over it."

Reimu had her doubts, but she decided to change the subject. "Well, I'm glad that _that_ particular piece of advice turned out well for us."

"Yeah," he nodded and let go of her hands. "Though I'm starting to wonder just how much he knew—my Eyecon came from him."

Muttering, he said, "Just how much _did_ you know, Dad?"

He shook his head. "Reimu, what was life like before . . . well, you know."

"Before I became a ghost?" she asked. "Wait, would it be 'became a ghost' or 'became Ghost?' Because one's a state of being, and the other's a title, really."

"For you, it's interchangeable, I think," he said. "Does it matter?"

"Not really," she admitted. "So, my life. Well, like I said, I went around solving incidents. Occasionally pests would show up and I'd go and put 'em down. Usually a few annoying people who fancied themselves incident resolvers would try to help out, but they'd cause more bad than good."

"Sounds like fun," Takeru grinned.

"Ugh, you would say that," she dismissed. "Anyways, in the off-moment that I wasn't beating up some youkai or dodging billions of magical bullets, I would tend to my shrine."

"The Shinto one, right?"

"Yeah. I'm still decently surprised that there are Buddhists like you," she said. "I mean, you still ride motorcycles, but you're not crashing flying ships into mausoleums."

"What?"

"Nothing," ignoring Takeru's confusion, she pressed on. "I barely got any visitors 'cuz my shrine, despite my best efforts, became the sort of place youkai _loved_ to hang around. So while I got no money, annoying gap-hags and witches and racoons and dumb hermits lazed about and made me make them tea."

"Sounds like you had a lot of friends." Takeru grinned impishly.

"Ugh, they were pains in the neck." Reimu gave him a flat look. "I mean, there were _some_ visitors and _some_ donations but nothing you'd call productive. Thankfully there was an antique store to pillage and a mansion to mooch from nearby."

"That does sound very much like you," Takeru sighed, remembering how she nearly at them out of house and home when she first arrived—and how the food bill was still the biggest of their concerns, money-wise. "So what kind of incidents did you get involved in?"

"Well, there was this one bratty vampire who tried to blot out the sun so she could go play," Reimu listed off. "Then there was an annoying ghost who wanted to steal spring for a dead tree, a stupid oni, a stupid eternal night princess, a stupid judge, and an insufferable player two miko and her pain-in-the-neck gods." She finished. "There's more, but I don't feel like telling those right now."

"So the vampire thing was the start of your career?" Takeru inquired.

"No. I remember _doing_ things before that," Reimu had a far-off look on her face. "But I can't remember what. I have a hunch I went to makai, however."

"Hm. Do you know why you feel that way?"

Reimu was about to answer, but then a voice that she _most definitely didn't want to hear right now_ interrupted them. "You," spat Specter.

Reimu and Takeru jumped, knocking over some bags. "What do you want?" Reimu asked warily.

"The Eyecons," came the reply. "Or are you going to run away again?"

Reimu flinched, but held her ground. "I'm done running," she said. "And I'm gonna take your Eyecons."

Specter smirked as his Driver blazed to life. "Very well. Come and get them."

"Just what are you doing here?" demanded Takeru. "Leave us alone!"

"None of your business," he coldly said.

"Actually, it's because his outfit is a mess," a disembodied voice spoke in their minds. "We were going shopping."

Specter seemed to stare in horror as an Eyecon—the same one that Reimu stole, she dimly realized—floated out of a pocket. "I'm sorry we didn't have a better first impression." It shone pink as the feminine voice echoed in their heads. "I'm Kanon, and this is Makoto."

"What!?" Takeru asked, shocked. "Did you just say that your name was Makoto?"

"What's it to you?" the man now identified as Makoto said cooly. He tried to grab the floating Eyecon, but it hovered out of his grasp. "Knowing my name won't stop me from taking those Eyecons."

"I'm Takeru! Tenkuuji Takeru!" he nearly shouted. "Your friend from ten years ago!"

Makoto looked shocked for a split second. "Takeru? Is that really you?"

"Yes! What happened to you?" he pressed. "You haven't contacted us for ten years! What happened? Why is Kanon an Eyecon?"

The moment was over. Makoto's face hardened again. "Nothing you would understand. Now get out of my way, Takeru, or I can't guarantee your safety."

"But why!?" Takeru cried. "Makoto, let's stop this! We can work together!"

"Bro, he's right," Eyecon-Kanon thought-spoke. "We don't have to go this way."

"Even if that was the case, what about her?" he thrust an accusing finger in Reimu's direction. "She wouldn't give up her chance to save her own hide!"

"What do you know!?" she responded angrily. "Yeah, I am trying to save my own skin! But my entire home relies on me being alive! I have hundreds of people to think about!"

The two glared at each other. By now the food court had gone silent, people backing away from the volatile pair. "Bro," Kanon whispered sadly.

A voice broke through the tension. "What's going on here?" Takeru turned to see a security guard, summoned by the ruckus they were causing. "Is there anything wrong?"

"No, I'm leaving," Makoto replied, shooting Reimu one last glare. "Kanon, let's go." He stalked away, even as Kanon labored to keep up. Reimu stared off into his direction as Takeru answered some questions the guard had. Satisfied, the guard left them alone.

"Jeez, what is that guy's problem?" Reimu grumbled, falling back into her seat. "What a jerk."

"It must've been rough," Takeru said sadly. "He used to be so kind."

They stayed there in silence for a few minutes. "I'm back. Sorry for taking so long," Akari announced as she return. She then notices the mood. "Uh, what happened while I was gone?"

"Trouble," Takeru sighed.

Back at home, Akari pressed Takeru for answers. "You're _sure_ it was Makoto and Kanon," she said. "Not just coincidentally-named siblings."

"Yes," Takeru repeated for what felt the one hundredth time. "Kanon recognized me."

"And she's been turned into an Eyecon, like Reimu," she muttered. "Curious."

Reimu had been silent the entire time. "What's on your mind?" Akari prompted.

"Kanon was Makoto's sister, correct?" At Akari and Takeru's confirmation, she sighed. "So that's why he's collecting the Eyecons. He's trying to bring her back."

"Yeah," Takeru muttered. "You're not thinking of letting him have the Eyecons, are you?"

"I'm not too sure, anymore." Reimu hugged her legs close. "I don't have any siblings, so sacrificing so much for someone you care about isn't something I'm terribly familiar with. It's true that Gensokyo hinges on my life, but it's always been a job. A burden. I don't have any particularly strong feelings of loyalty towards it."

"Even so, it's your home," Takeru said. "And there's nothing wrong with using the wish on yourself."

"I know," she said. "I just . . . Need some time."

She flew up to the roof, deep in thought. Eventually, the day's events caught up to her, and she fell into a deep sleep.

Reimu dreamed troubled dreams, full of horned blue men, inky black ghosts, and floating eyeballs. After one particularly disturbing vision involving black spears and skeletal fiends, she found herself staring at a crossroads.

"Well, this is a bit on-the-nose, isn't it?" she remarked. She took a look around her. "The Forest of Magic," she realized. "Either I'm back home, or this is a dream."

"Bingo~" came the annoyingly cheerful tone of Yuyuko. She stepped out from behind a tree, giggling behind her fan. "I should have made it a bit more subtle, hmmm?"

"What are you doing here, Yuyuko?" Reimu sighed. "With all the interfering Gramps had done, I thought you'd show yourself before now."

"I had business to take care of," she said airily. "A travelling wizard was baking donuts."

Reimu rolled her eyes. "Of course."

Yuyuko's mirthful smile died down. "Reimu. Yukari has entered a special hibernation, temporarily sealing herself away to ensure the Barrier's integrity."

A weight that Reimu hadn't realized she had been carrying vanished. "Oh," she said, breathing a sigh of relief. "That's good."

"I hear you're now competing with that Specter fellow to get a wish granted."

"Ugh, don't remind me," the Rider groaned. "He's such a pain."

The princess giggled. "Well, I thought I'd help by taking a burden off your back," she said. "Now, what will you do? Bring yourself back, or give the wish to his sister?"

Reimu hesitated. She was uncertain before, and this new revelation only complicated matters. "I'm . . . not sure."

Yuyuko places a hand on Reimu's shoulder. "Reimu, remember this. You may say you don't have any loyalty towards your home, but I think you may find that you care more for it than you previously thought," she said. "Likewise, I know Gensokyo may not show its gratitude, but you'd be surprised how much we actually care for you."

Reimu was silent. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Just something to think about," she said. "Ah, the sun's coming up. You'd best get along."

As Reimu vanished back into the realm of the awoke, the terrain dissolved into a familiar waterfall. Sage stepped out from a thicket. "Are you sure that was wise?"

"I wanted to relieve Reimu of any burden she thought she had," she explained. "Any decision will make will be her own, and not restricted by duty."

"Could it not be said that you burdened her with the knowledge that there are those who look upon her favorably and would like her to return?" Sage asked, folding his hands behind his back.

"Perhaps," Yuyuko admitted. "But I wanted Reimu to get a clearer picture of what her decision will entail." A twinkle sparked in her eye. "Besides, I like the girl. Is it that wrong of me to rig the game a bit in the outcome I want to happen?"

Sage chuckled. "In any case, it's bound to be interesting."

"Indeed."

The two spirits then vanished, leaving only a still glade and gentle waterfall.

* * *

Reimu and Takeru stood atop a bridge over a gorge, just having fulfilled a request. "No Eyecon, but at least that's one less Ganma causing trouble," Takeru said, sheathing his axe.

"Yeah," Reimu said as she cancelled her transformation. Thanks to yesterday's shopping trip, she was now clad in athletic shoes, comfortable blue jeans and a red tank top. Her hair tubes and ribbon had been confiscated, leaving her to tie her locks into a ponytail. "How much are we being paid?"

"Enough." Takeru hadn't escaped the purge either. Akari had dressed him in black slacks, a gray tee, and an orange jacket. "Thankfully, we don't have rent to pay, so this should cover our bills," he said. Then he froze.

Reimu caught his stare and turned around. At the other end of the bridge, blue motorcycle parked, stood Makoto. His outfit, too, had changed. He was wearing a forest green suit and purple collared shirt, with a black tie.

"One of these things isn't like the others," Reimu muttered. "Nice clothes!" she called out.

"Reimu, please," sighed Takeru.

Makoto came forward. "This is why I wear that tracksuit," he muttered. "Ghost. I have come for your Eyecons. Resist and die."

Reimu closed her eyes, sighing. When she opened them, they were full of determination. "I've made my decision, Makoto. I don't know what you've been through, or what it means to have a sister. But I've decided that I'm going to live on. Both for myself, and for my friends waiting for me back home."

"So be it," came the stoic reply. Ghost Drivers blazing to life with orange and blue fire, the two Riders squared off in the middle of the bridge.

"Henshin!"

"Henshin."

Even as the spectral armor formed around them, the Watashi and Specter Parka Ghosts fought in the sky to the chanting of the Drivers. Levers were pulled simultaneously and hoods were thrown back as faceplates slid into place. Punch was met with punch, and the collision sent a wave of pressure that knocked Takeru, and the suddenly-present Yurusen, back.

"Your fists aren't as weak as they were before," Specter noted. "This is your determination, then?"

"Yeah," Ghost replied. "I'm not backing down!"

The two broke apart. Reimu threw punch after punch, yet Makoto continued to block them all. _I have to break past his guard_ , she thought with gritted teeth. She ducked out of the way of an arcing kick. _Where is it? Where's his weak spot?_

Even as she shrank back and deflected a hail of blows, a spark of inspiration struck her. "That's it!" She leapt back and feinted with a punch. As she had predicted, Makoto deflected with one arm and spun around to strike with the other—exposing his side. The shrine maiden sent a heavy kick into his side, sending him rolling across the ground in pain.

"Your side is exposed when you throw out a heavy attack," she said. "I noticed it when I first swiped Kanon's Eyecon—and just now when you sent me flying back."

"Clever," he growled, Ghost Changing into Tutankhamun. "But not good enough!"

"Benkei!" Reimu commanded as she donned the white parka. She summoned the Gangun Saber, extending the handle to turn it into Naginata Mode. Scythe blade clashed against polearm as Specter and Ghost tried to press forward. "I've decided," she said. "I'm going to beat you up and then help you out."

"Quit speaking nonsense," he viciously swung at Reimu. "There can be only one."

Reimu deflected blow after blow, before spinning her blade around and scoring a hit across his chest. "Shove it! I'm gonna do what I wanna do! And I'm gonna save both!"

Makoto roared, scanning the Gangun Hand over the Energy Eye Crest. Reimu did the same. "Eyes wide open!"  
Makoto swung, firing a wave of energy. Before it could hit its mark, Reimu smashed her polearm into the ground, disrupting the dimensional slash while creating a glyph upon the ground, up from which rose many spectral weapons. "Take this, you blue jerk!"

"Omega Bomber!"

Swords, spears, hammers, and weapons of all kind assaulted Specter. He reeled back from the blows, staggered by the continuous onslaught. With one last swing, Reimu sent a ghostly naginata careening into Makoto's chest, where it exploded and knocked him out of his transformation. He rolled across the ground, gritting his teeth as he slid across the gravel.

Reimu's armor disappeared. "I don't know your circumstances, Makoto. You're not even my friend. But this is the path that I believe to be right."

"Shut it," he moaned. "Stop saying things that Kanon said."

"Bro . . . ." Takeru and Reimu could see Kanon's eyecon floating over the bridge railing. "You know it doesn't have to be this way."

Wordlessly, Makoto snatched the soul container and hobbled off towards his motorcycle, no doubt to return at a later date.

After he disappeared from their view, Reimu's knees gave out from under her and she collapsed. "That was intense," she said, laying her head against the warm road.

"It was," Takeru agreed, squatting down next to her. "But you did it."

"Yeah," she smiled softly. "I did. My first win against Specter."

Takeru smiled. Maybe, just maybe, things would turn out alright.

* * *

Alain smiled. Things were going to turn out alright.

"The gate to our world will open soon," he said. "Our plan is proceeding smoothly."

The Ganma was perched on a rooftop, overlooking a crowded train station in the middle of the city at night. Beside him was an older Ganma dressed in a military uniform. "

"Quite an impressive sight, isn't it, Javert?" the young man said. "The way home."

"It is indeed a privilege to look upon," Javert responded. "What next?"  
"We need to move to the next site," Alain replied, already walking away. "After all, the time is almost upon us.

Elsewhere, Saionji chuckled to himself. "The final Eyecon is mine," he whispered. "All is going according to plan."

Sage, in Takeru's basement, somberly studied the Monolith. Yuyuko leaned against the wall. "It's almost time," he said.

"Yes," she agreed.

Time was running out. Forty days remained until Reimu would disappear forever.


	5. Chapter 5: The Coming Storm

**Chapter 5: The Coming Storm**

"So how exactly did this happen?" Remilia Scarlet whispered. She was standing next to Patchouli, surveying the scene before her.  
"I'm not sure," came the reply. "One moment they were fighting, and then . . . this."

The library was in shambles. Books lay strewn about the floor, scattered from their home from the shelves. Fires dotted the area, caused by both fallen lanterns and magical mayhem. In the middle of it all was a man and a girl, sitting about a square piece of cardboard.

"Go to jail, don't collect $200~" Flandre Scarlet happily cheered.

"Why are you so good at this?" Soma Haruto grumbled. "First Battleship, then Clue, now Monopoly."

"Fufufufu," the vampire giggled. "I'm the best!"  
Haruto and Flandre's clash had torn apart the library. The wizard's magical defenses proved to ward off her biggest attacks, but when encounters a veritable swarm of magical bullets, there's only so far a magical trenchcoat can take you. That's not to say he was completely outclassed, however. He was an opponent unlike Flandre had ever seen, absorbing her flames and sending them back at her. Not daring to only use fire, he assaulted her with wind, water, and earth. Eventually, Flandre's raw power and Haruto's combat magic took their toll on each other, forcing them to stalemate. Haruto, in a flash of wit, conjured up a board game in hopes that she'd go along with it—and his hunch was right. It seems that for all her power, she was just a kid. A spoiled brat, maybe, but just a kid.

"I'm still astonished at how he managed to subdue her so quickly," Remilia said under her breath, loud enough for her friend to hear. "And that the situation didn't escalate farther than it did."

"You call this 'not escalated'?" Patchouli gave Remilia a look. "Then you're fixing this."

"What? No, Patchy!" Remilia whines. The Great Unmoving Library simply floats away. "Well, this is embarrassing."

"Don't worry, Miss Scarlet," the vampire nearly jumps as Haruto's head pops out of a magic circle in front of her. "I'll help. It's my mess, after all." He withdraws his head, going back to playing with Flandre.

She simply stares at him. "Well, uh, thanks?" _Man, he'd be really helpful to have around the place._

Meanwhile, Haruto thought back to the book he read before he was interrupted. Disturbing information floated around through his head as he carried the younger Scarlet upon his shoulders, taking the opportunity to magically clean up the place. _Whatever's coming is big. I'll have to warn the others as soon as possible._

* * *

So as to not draw attention, Marisa rode with Shotaro on the Hardboiler, his bike. Philip would get there via another means, she was told. "You haven't told me where we were going!" she yelled over the wind.

"Huh?" he yelled back. "I told you! It's a surprise!"

For the last month or so, she had been working with Shotaro and Philip on cases they received as they waited for "the right time." Apparently they had some guys out of the country who needed to return. As such, Marisa was stuck chasing down transforming criminals, solving murder mysteries, and looking for lost pets. These tasks she had taken to with a great enthusiasm, to the great delight of the two detectives. Now, however, it seems that they had somewhere to go—somewhere outside of Fuuto.

After an hour or two of riding away from the city, they entered a small, rural farming community off the beaten path in the hills somewhere. It was outside a surprisingly fancy traditional inn where Shotaro parked his bike, along with several other colorful machines—and was that a car? Marisa hadn't seen many before she came to the outside world, and the things still fascinated her. Dismounting, she stretched, her body aching from the soreness. "Why are we all the way out here?"

"Several reasons," Shotaro said while replacing his helmet with his hat. He smoothed out his ruffled waistcoat, before taking out his mobile phone. "Good, we're early."

Marisa copied him, replacing the helmet she had been loaned with her trusty witch hat. She wasn't wearing her normal outfit as it would draw too many looks and would be impractical for motorcycle riding. She was currently adorned in blue shorts, a striped shirt, and a black jacket in addition to a new pair of shoes Shotaro had insisted he buy her for whatever reason. "Windscale is a top-quality designer," he had claimed.

"So what's the deal?" she asked, falling behind him as they walked through the dirt lot towards the inn. "What's goin' on?"

"We're meeting the other Riders here," he said. "You've meet Terui already. Now you get to meet the rest—well, some of the rest."

They were greeted by a woman in traditional clothing who told them that they were being expected and led them to a large room. Sliding open the _shoji_ , leading them to a large room where a bunch of people sat on cushions around a table, who turned to look at the new arrivals. Most were unfamiliar faces, but she did spot someone she recognized: Philip, Shotaro's partner.

"Yo!" Shotaro greeted with a wave. The group grinned and waved back, some standing up to clap the detective on the back. "Who's left?"

"Just Shouichi and Kosuke," a man with scraggly hair and a full beard answered. Marisa raised an eyebrow at his unkempt, wild appearance. His clothing was a hodgepodge of clashing materials and colors that didn't go together at all. "Though they should be here soon."

They sat down at some empty cushions, next to the people they already knew. "Hey, Sho. Why are there more than two seats open?"  
"For the Riders who can't make it right now. Currently Haruto and Yusuke are in Gensokyo, while there are others, like Gou, who are abroad," Shotaro said. "Someone will fill them in on the details later."

Marisa had no clue who they were, of course, but rolled with it. Several minutes passed before a man in jeans and a fur-trimmed jacket with wild hair arrived, greeting several of the people with tight hugs and a loud voice. And a minute after that a friendly-looking man in casual clothing arrived, taking a seat after some handshakes. Above the empty seats, magic circles blazed to life, and through them a window to another place could be seen. Two figures appeared in those circles, accompanied by strangely familiar backgrounds. Finally, the meeting would begin.

"So," a middle-aged man with eyes full of life in a dark blue robe began. "I trust you know why I've called everyone here today. We're here to discuss the paranormal threat known as the Ganma." After several seconds of murmuring, he continued. "To combat this, we have called in a person from a place similarly afflicted—the land of Gensokyo. Kirisame Marisa, please introduce yourself."

Marisa felt slightly self-conscious as she felt all those eyes on her. She wasn't quite used to this situation—where she'd normally be her bombastic and brazen self, she now found only hesitation. "My name is Marisa, as you know," she bowed. "I, er, am a witch of Gensokyo. Pleased to work with you." She sat down a tad bit too quickly.

Shotaro spoke up. "She's been helping us out for the past month with normal and Dopant-related cases. I can vouch for her skill and power as a mage. It's the real deal."

The older man nodded. "Well, we should probably introduce ourselves—Shotaro probably forgot to let you know who we are." A light chuckle at the detective's expense was shared by the group, broken only by an indignant "Hey!" "I'll go first. I am Hibiki, Drum Master Oni." He gave a wry smile and a jaunty salute. "Let's get along."

The oldest one here, a sixty-year-old man in a blue coat, went next. "Jin Keisuke, Kamen Rider X," he said in a baritone. "One of the original ten."

One of the people in the magic circles spoke up. "Godai Yusuke, Kuuga, reporting from Gensokyo," he said. He had long hair pulled back into a ponytail, a light moustache and goatee, complimented by the kindest smile Marisa had ever seen. He gave a thumbs up as he said, "The sunflower fields are a really lovely place. You've got a really great home, Marisa."

The man who arrived last spoke up next. "Tsugami Shouichi, Agito." He said. "I own a restaurant in the city. Please, come visit it sometime."

"Kirishima Miho," a lady in a brown jacket said. "Neither Shinji nor Ren could make it, so you'll have to settle for Kamen Rider Femme instead."

An angry-looking brown-haired man was next. "Sakurai Yuuto, Kamen Rider Zeronos. Likewise, Den-O isn't available." He snorted. "Man, what a pain."

"Kamen Rider Kiva-la," a girl in an orange beanie took her turn. "Hikari Natsumi. I'm here to spare you the pain of dealing with Tsukasa." That earned a few laughs.

Shotaro spoke up. "You already know me and Philip. We're W," he said. Marisa had seen them transform several times over the past month. "But again, you already knew that."

The bearded hobo Marisa had turned away from earlier came afterwards. "Hino Eiji, Kamen Rider OOO. I swear I don't normally have this beard." That got a chuckle out of most everyone at the table.

Quite the opposite of the demure and subdued introductions of his predecessors, a rather large young man with a pompadour shot up and pounded his chest twice before jabbing a finger at a perplexed Marisa. "Kisaragi Gentaro! Kamen Rider Fourze!" He grinned. "I'm gonna befriend everybody in Gensokyo!"

"Good luck with that," she responded, slightly taken aback. He just gave her a wide grin and sat down.

"Soma Haruto," the other man in the magical mirror said. He had a rather mischievous smirk accented by a small amount of facial hair that gave him the appearance of a suave heartbreaker. "Wizard, also reporting in from Gensokyo. I've meet some friends of yours, Marisa." She was shocked to see Flandre Scarlet, of all people pop out from behind him, grinning. "Hey, Marisa! This guy is fun! He played with me and everything!"

"What—how?" she began, but was silenced by another person. "Don't worry about it for now," the tired voice of Patchouli Knowledge rang out from somewhere unseen. "They're fine."

Marisa was so startled that she almost missed the next Rider's introduction. "Beast! Nitoh Kosuke!" the second-to-last-person-to-arrive said energetically. "Man, I'm starving."

"Kamen Rider Drive," a serious-looking man in a suit said. "Tomari Shinnosuke. It's a pleasure."

"All of you are Kamen Riders? Like Shotaro?" Marisa asked.

"Yes—well, some of us in name only. The Oni are really honorary Riders because they do some of the same stuff that we do. However, they're more monster hunters than superheroes," Shotaro explained. "Like with Haruto and Kosuke. They're mages first, and Riders second."

"Huh?"

"Don't sweat it," the amicable Kosuke laughed off. "Being a Rider has some weird requirements. Like having fancy toys, for one."

Marisa was confused. "I'll take your word for it," she decided.

"Well, since we're done with introductions," Hibiki said. "Let's move onto the reason why we're here." He nodded. "Godai, your report."

Godai nodded. "Well, I had returned to Japan for a bit from my travels. One day I happened across a strange symbol—it looked like this." He held up a drawing of an eye with its iris aflame. "Kuuga reacted to it—that was my first warning. But then a bunch of weird inky-black creatures showed up, followed by a bigger one wearing a strange red coat and a black tricorn hat. For some reason, they attacked me, so I transformed into Kuuga and drove them back." He took a sip of some tea he had offscreen before continuing. "But then a most curious thing happened. A strange pillar rose from the eye. It bore a strange symbol. As I looked upon it, Kuuga reacted in ways that I haven't felt in a long, long time." He set down the teacup. "It didn't do anything, however. It just sat there—but I could feel it _staring_ at me. It was almost like the Monolith from Blade's world. Remember that?"

Some of the group nodded. "That thing was a mess," Shouichi said. "You're saying that this is as bad as the Battle Fight?"

"With the way Kuuga reacted, it sure has the potential to be," came the reply.

Hibiki nodded. "Your turn, Miho."

"I was driving home from work one night when I saw a strange light coming from an abandoned building," the swanlike lady said. "I went to investigate. A strange person was drawing the mark Godai showed, dipping a strange liquid onto it. Out of sight, I watched as he tossed some objects onto the paper, which vanished. Blancwing was getting nervous, responding to . . . whatever had happened. So after filming what I could on my phone, I got out of there and tried to do some research. Nothing really popped up, and I'm really only learning what they were now."

"Haruto?" Hibiki asked after she had finished.

"Well, I had seen some of the cloaked ghosts popping up here and there. Save stopping them from attacking people and things, I didn't give them much through, other than it was a right pain that I had to use magic to even see them. I thought they were the new Phantoms or Roidmudes or something." He shifted in his seat. "But after Gensokyo 'hired' me to help, I saw more and more of those strange things. It was during my trip to the Scarlet Devil Mansion's vast library that I came across a tome that made mention of an ancient kingdom who worshipped a Great Eye. After certain events, they were sent to a spiritual realm, their bodies turned into ghosts."

"And you suspect that group to be the one behind this?" Keisuke asked.

"It's a possibility." Haruto nodded. "What really worries me is a certain passage talking about the ghosts taking on the mantle of dead people who have made a mark on history. In that passage it mentions something about the coming of the 'fifteen great' who would pave the way for the Great Eye, who would 'make all one'."

"That's not foreboding at all," Yuuto muttered. "Well, at least there haven't been any temporal anomalies as of yet."

Marisa frowned. "So that black shadow thing that killed Reimu was one of these ghosts?"

"That seems to be the case." Haruto said. "According to my sources, she's currently fighting them in an attempt to come back to life—this you already know."

"So what exactly did we meet for? This could easily be solved with a text or two." Shinnosuke frowned. "We're all busy. There has to be something more than that."

"Indeed," Hibiki said. "As a matter of fact, there's a symbol not far from here. Hence why we chose this village to meet up."

"So that's what's next?" Natsumi calmly asked. "Investigation?"  
"Yes," Hibiki replied. "And first—"

The paper door slammed open. "Big trouble!" the lady who had welcomed Marisa in shouted—though she had a curious addition of brown ears and a swishing fox tail. "The disguise has been shattered! Those spirits are here!"

"What!?"

"Bad news," Gentaro said, looking at his phone. "Kengo says there's something strange going on at his college. I gotta go."

"I'll go with you," Natsumi offered.

"All right. Break up into groups." Hibiki stated as they all rose. "Whoever comes with me will check out whatever broke the spell on this town. I need a second group to check out the place we were originally going, and a few more to go with Gentaro. There's bound to be trouble."

The collective Riders nodded and split up. Before Marisa had a chance to follow Shotaro, a hand grabbed her by the shoulder. "Hey, wanna team up?"

"You're Nitoh, she said. "The other mage."

"Call me Kosuke," he said with a grin. "We magicians should stick together, yeah? Besides, I wanna see what your magic is like."

"Sure, I guess."

Splitting apart from the rest, they quickly made their way to the location reported to have increased paranormal activity.

"This is it," Marisa muttered. She gripped her Hakkero and broom as she overlooked the clearing where the familiar eye-symbol was drawn.

"Hey, wait up," a breathless Kousuke gasped. "Jeez, how fast is that broom? I gotta get me one."

"Sorry, witches only," she grinned. "But you could maybe get a rug."

"No fair," he asked. "Before we go down and start breaking heads, what type of magic do you use?"

"Eastern with a Western approach. Favored elements are Light and heat," she replies. "Mostly for breakin' stuff."

"I emulate animals," Kousuke replied. "Though I think you could guess that based on my name. I think I'm Earth." After his piece was said, he tapped a ring on his left hand. "Reveal, go," he muttered. He thrust his fist skywards, and Marisa felt the spell trigger. A horde of shambling black shapes came into view, along with several robed characters. "That's them," he said. "Let's do this, yeah?"

"Yeah," she said. She pointed her broom skywards. "Star Sign: Gravity Beat!" She fired a rain of stars that crashed into the horde.

That certainly got their attention. "You!" One of the caped phantoms growled. "Who are you?!"

"Just a few mages," she said. "No biggie."

"C'mon, Chimera, it's lunchtime," Kousuke said, licking his lips. The two leapt down from their vantage point.

"Get them!" The horde now made a full-on dash in their direction.

Marisa thrust her hakkero before her. "Master Spark!" she commanded, the magical furnace roaring to life and unleashing a wave of burning power.

When the dust settled, a path had been carved through the crowd. "Hey, not bad," Kouske said, impressed. "But it's my turn." He thrust up his right hand. "Chimera, come!"

The ground rumbled as a magical circle blazed to light underneath him. With a roar, a golden beast smashed through the enemy ranks, sending some into the rocky terrain while devouring others.

Marisa whistled. "Okay, that's neat."

"Sure is." He grinned. "Let's go!"

The two rushed at the mob of ghosts. Marisa threw magical stars and lasers every which way, as Kousuke used his saber in tandem with his monster-emulating magics to beat the horde back.

W arrived at the scene. "Wow, they're holding their own," the Joker half said, impressed.  
"And Nitoh isn't even transformed," replied the Cyclone half. The two-in-one Kamen Rider then leapt into the fray. Through the combined might of star magic, beast magic, and Gaia Memory, only the Ganma Evolveds were left.

"Nice to see ya, Sho," Marisa greeted. "And you too, Phil."

"Why you—!" one of the phantoms growled. "Get them!"

Marisa grinned, rocketing forward on her broom. Nitoh charged forward, red cape billowing off of his shoulder, as W summoned the Trigger Magnum and fired. The last of the Ganma, unprepared for this assault, were blown away. "That takes care of that," Kousuke said.

"Not quite," Shotaro pointed out. More of the Ganma had crawled out from . . . somewhere. "It's going to be a long day, huh?"

The three once again delved into the fray, cries of battle upon their lips.

Gokai Yusuke sighed as the connection dropped. "Seems they have trouble," he said.

"So what now?" Kazami Yuuka asked him. "More searching?"

"I'm not sure. I could meet up with Haruto but he's busy, as you know," he said.

Yuuka was about to comment, but she paused. "Well, whatever it is will have to wait," she said, as Yusuke notice her grip her parasol tightly. "We have _guests_ to greet."

"So it seems." The Arcle appeared around his waist, bidden by his mental command.

They stood and turned to be greeted by several of those shambling black ghosts Yusuke had run into earlier. "It's rude to enter a lady's property uninvited," Yuuka said in that unnervingly calm voice she had when she was angry. "Please, leave or suffer the consequences."

The only response they got was moaning. "Well, such rudeness will not be tolerated. Godai, if you would."

Yusuke nodded. He stepped forward, allowing Kuuga to fill him with a slight bit of power. "I'm sorry it's come to this," he said.

"Henshin."

* * *

"Any luck?" Takeru asked as he entered the basement.

"Unfortunately not," Reimu sighed, laying on the floor. "That's the fifth request n a row we haven't been able to get an Eyecon from."

A few weeks had passed since Reimu's first victory over Specter. They had encountered him several times since, in an attempt to reach out, but those just ended up devolving into conflicts sending both fighters rolling. "What next?"

"Sage hasn't appeared in a while." Takeru said. "Something's up."

Reimu nodded. Something strange _was_ going on—she could feel it in the air. "Anyway, let's get some lunch. I'm starving."

During lunch, they received another request. Tired, but still willing to make a few extra bucks, they set off, searching for the source of paranormal activity.

They had twenty-four days left to gather all fifteen Eyecons.

"You again!" Reimu said as she chased down the Seiryuuto Ganma. The dragon-headed ghost fled, soaring through the trees. "Get back here!"

"Come and catch me!" The ghost cut through the branches with its glaive. "Got you!"

A branch careened from the side and nailed Reimu in the head, causing her to drop hard. "Hah! Fool!" The dragon cackled. "I have the power of Guan Yu! There's no way you can beat me!"

"Every bullet hits its mark! Gunpowder flash and spark!" Reimu's parka changed from orange to brown and she flew backwards, bringing out the Gangun Saber and the Bat Clock in gun mode, peppering the Ganma with bullets.

"The exterminator's here!" Reimu smirked behind her mask. She ran at the Seiryuuto Ganma, knocking him back with her spectral fire.

"Argh!" it screamed as it slammed into a tree. "How dare you!"

"Oh, I dare." She slid the two guns together, forming a rifle. She scanned the Energy Eye Crews before taking aim. The ghostly glyph appeared once again, locking onto the dragonlike ghost.

"Omega Impact:「Genso's High Noon」!"

A spiraling energy bullet pierced through the Ganma and the tree behind it, continuing on past out of the forest. With a gurgle, the Ganma's hood dissolved as its inky black form collapsed and exploded. Yet again and Eyecon fell to the ground and shattered, leaving only a Chinese halberd behind . . . and several colorful orbs.

Reimu mimed blowing smoke out of her weapon. "Man, I really like this one."

Yurusen popped up. "Hey, Reimu. Those are Makoto's Eyecons, aren't they?"

"Wait, you're right!" she realized. Picking them up, she examined them. "What are they doing here?"

"Dunno~" Yurusen said. "What's next, now that you've gotten them back?"

"I'm not sure." She said. "Hey, hold onto these for me." She gave Yurusen Specter's Eyecons, holding onto her own. "I think I'll go find Takeru, first."

Back at the Shrine, Reimu sighed, more content than she was before the incident. "Man, what a haul."

"I'm glad we got back Edison and Newton, but why Makoto's?" Takeru was lost in thought. "In any case, we're now at ten," he said, looking at the unidentified purple Eyecon. "Strange. I wonder what this one is?"

Before anybody could hazard a guess, the phone rang. "Hello?" Takeru answered.

"Takeru! It's Makoto!" Shibuya's panicked voice came through. "He's holding Narita hostage demanding you fight him!"

"What!?" Takeru gasped as Reimu shot up. "Where!?"

"At the gravesite!"

"We're on our way!"

At the gravesite, Makoto was indeed there. "It's finally time to settle this," he said as Narita scrambled away. "Henshin."

"Gah, for real!?" Reimu yelped as he swung at her. "Henshin!"

But even as Makoto's fist met Reimu's sword, the world around them exploded. As the smoke cleared the two Riders turned to see a figure clad in a black military uniform striding toward them. "Perfect," he said. "I'll be able to collect both of your Eyecons."

"You're . . .!" Specter growled.

The black-clad man smirked. He held out an Eyecon of his own, and activated it. Black smoke swirled around him and when it settled, in his place was a figure clad in blue armor.

"Be careful!" Warned Yurusen. "He's no ordinary Ganm!"

Casually, he strode into their midst. Specter launched an attack, which was deftly avoided and countered. Reimu backed up before slashing, only to be knocked back by his fist.

"I can't let them fight here," she muttered. She changed the Saber back to gun mode and shot him, retreating. The other two gave chase, even as Takeru followed them on his motorcycle.

They stopped down below the hill the Daitenkuji Temple was located on, in a rocky field. Every attack the two Riders tried to get in, the Ganma avoided. Every time Reimu tried to float away and snipe, he was quick to send her back to the ground. Every time Specter rushed in, he was stopped with a more powerful barrage of blows.

"He's not giving me a chance for a Ghost Change," Reimu growled. Noticing Specter had started charging again, she decided to as well—maybe this would actually accomplish something.

It wouldn't. "Let me show you," came the gravelly voice, "What it means when children take to the battlefield."

He gathered phantasmal energy into his hands and brought them down, smashing the ground and conjuring pillars of blue flame. The ghostly fires engulfed the two Riders, sending them flying back from the force.

As they struggled to get to their feet, the Eyecons Reimu had been holding onto spilled onto the ground. "The Eyecons!" Takeru, who had just arrived, gasped as he saw the scene. He started climbing down to reach the battlefield.

"C'mon, Reimu, get up!" Yurusen's shrill voice echoed from the side. "He's coming!"

But even as Reimu struggled to rise, even as Makoto desperately reached out for his lost Eyecons, and even as the Ganma Superior took his time, savoring his victory, a familiar figure wearing a trenchcoat looked down from the hillside. "Things have deviated slightly from my plans. Well, it matters not." Saionji said. He opened his briefcase, upon which was engraved an eye with an iris aflame. He made a hand sign, and the symbol glowed.

The Eyecons flew out of Yurusen's grasp, soaring up the hill. She shrieked, even as the the scattered orbs ascended. "What's going on?"

"What is the meaning of this!?" The blue-armored man demanded.

"That's Saionji! From my dad's notes!" Takeru realized as he helped Reimu rise.

"Reimu! Takeru!" Yurusen wailed. "He's got a full set!"

"Give them back!" Makoto cried, desperation in his voice. He charged the older man, who simply threw down a curious device. As soon as it touched the floor, unseen artifacts scattered all around threw up a barrier, sending Specter flying back.

A crimson dome formed, sealing the Temple—and those inside—off from the outside world. Even as the Riders (and one Ganma Superior) tried to figure out what just happened, Saionji disappeared. From a distance, Alain narrowed his eyes.

Saionji entered the temple unmolested. The monks had since been put to sleep, as well as that loud scientist. He casually made his way down into the basement he had visited many, many times before. The symbol upon the basement's Monolith glowed blue, as if welcoming him.

"Everything is in order," the crooked former Ghost Hunter said to himself, grinning deviously. "Let us begin the ritual."

* * *

Author's note: Sorry for not doing this before, but here I am again, uploading with an actual schedule now. Forgive me for not writing in several years-I've had college and stuff to do. However, now that I have time, I hope to actually get things done.

So! This time around we have a Kamen Rider and Touhou crossover. This is was actually due to a buddy of mine bringing up the idea and challenging me to write my version of it. So, this is what you get. I'd like to thank Starboy35tcoos, Ancienthelm8, Nanowhymo, Tapu Koko, KingofzeroX and AceofDeath for being my beta editors thus far.


	6. Chapter 6: Wishes and Family

**Chapter 6: Wishes and Family**

"Just what exactly is this?" Takeru asked, staring at the red dome surrounding the temple's hill.

"It appears to be a barrier of some kind. It's possibly harmful," Yurusen warned. Reimu then grabbed the eyeball spirit and hurled it at the barrier, causing the barrier to crackle with energy that drowned out Yurusen's shrieks of pain.  
"Definitely harmful," Reimu confirmed. Takeru cringed as Yurusen rolled on the floor to get rid of the fire.

"What was that for, you jerk!?" The sprite said, enraged. "That hurt!"

"Well I wasn't gonna touch it."

"Don't use me!"

They were distracted by one Fukami Makoto pounding the ground in rage. His transformation cancelled, all he could do was grit his teeth as his chance for his sister's revival slipped away.

"But seriously," Reimu said as her armor dissolved around her, "We need to find a way in."

Inside the temple basement, Saionji carefully placed the Eyecons around a paper made of a curious material, marked with the eye-symbol in the center. He dropped a strange fluid into the eye's center, causing the sheet to burn up in blue flames. The Eyecons rose in the air, circling around the Monolith's glowing eye.

"Is this it? The force surpassing all human understanding?" he whispered. His voice raised to a crescendo. "Great Eye! Give me the power to rule over all!"

At first, nothing happened. Then his body glowed a soft blue, and emitted a black static. "No! Not this!" he cried out in terror. His screams echoed throughout the temple as he dissolved, absorbed into the glowing Monolith.

"I was careless," Sage said as he appeared, followed by Saigyouji Yuyuko. Both had abandoned their carefree selves, adopting stern expressions of concern.

"It's not your fault," the Netherworld's princess said. "We didn't know that he had five Eyecons already."

Sage looked at the items he had left behind. "He appears to have had the makings of a Ghost Driver. Not enough for the Great Eye to accept him, however."

The mysterious pair simply watched as the Eyecons swirled about, turning into glyphs. They arranged themselves in a complex pattern, which, along with the Monolith's symbol, formed a floating, mystical rune. The rune phased through the ceiling, stopping when it came into contact with the barrier Saionji had erected—which it shattered.

"Just what was that?" Akari, who had been in the basement at the time of the Saionji's invasion, woke up just as he was absorbed by the mysterious stone. "What's going on!?"

She couldn't see the other two ghosts in the room as they turned and disappeared, leaving for parts unknown.

"The barrier's gone!" Takeru exclaimed. Makoto glanced up, eyes widening. "Let's go!"

The assembled company made their dash to the top, as the black-uniformed man turned aside. "I'll make use of Prince Alain's preparations," Javert said, conjuring up a transparent map. "Those Eyecons _will_ be mine."

Reimu and Takeru met a groggy Akari, Onari, Shibuya and Narita on the temple's front doorstep. "You guys!" Takeru said, running forward. "Are you okay?"

"What's going on?" Onari asked. "What is that most peculiar thing floating in the sky?"

"Do you think that—" Reimu was cut off as her Eyecon, still in her Driver, shone with a bright light. Before she could say another word, she was sent skyward, almost as if a fishing rod had hooked her by the belt and pulled her into the air.

Reimu struggled, but to no avail. She was pulled up to the waiting rune—and, after she passed through the eye in the center, the eye closed. Yurusen made chase, but the glyph seemed to be accepting no more applicants, as the sprite fell to the earth, aflame.

Makoto was ascending the temple's steps as Reimu was pulled through the rune. The realization hit him like a truck, and the strength left his knees. "It's too late," he whispered, collapsing onto the stone stairs. "All of this, for nothing."

Kanon's Eyecon floated out of his pocket. "Bro . . . ."

"I'm sorry, Kanon," the broken Fukami choked out. "I went so far, even attacking my childhood friend and someone who had an entire world on her back. All for nothing."

"It's okay, Bro." Kanon's voice resonated in his mind. "I'm still here with you."

Makoto sobbed, his entire world crashing down around him.

Elsewhere, Javert frowned. "It looks like this would be the best place," he said, pointing to a location on his map. "Gundari!"

A ways away, on top of a rooftop, an eye-symbol blazed to life. From it burst forth long, wormlike monsters with knives for teeth and steel for scales—the Gundari. They took the air, howling for blood—blood that was to be found at the Daitenku Temple.

Reimu stood in a cloudy void—at least, that's what it appeared to her. She stood atop a massive version of the eye-sigil she drew many times in her quest for the Eyecons. "Just where is this place?" she muttered.

"Speak," a strange voice echoed throughout the space. Reimu looked every which way, but could not find its source. "Speak your desire."

"Are you the wish-granter?" Reimu asked hesitantly.

"Speak your desire," the voice repeated.

Visions of an angry Specter clashed with images of her home in her mind. She closed her eyes. When she opened them a minute later, they were filled with assurance. "I know my wish," she declared.

"Speak," the voice commanded.

"My wish . . . ."

Alain stood upon a rocky outcropping, watching this unfold. "Javert, you fool," he spat. "You know not what you do."

"Obtain the Eyecons!" Javert yelled as the Gundari swam in the air towards the golden rune, shrieking. However, once the first one came within five feet, a powerful energy burst out, sending the wormlike phantasms down to the earth below. "What!?"

The Eye opened once more, emitting a flash of light. The people down below flinched. Slowly, a figure emerged.  
"Reimu!" Takeru cried out. She descended slowly, but something seemed . . . off.

"Is . . . she carrying someone?" Onari squinted through the light.

Reimu touched down—indeed, she seemed to be carrying a girl in her arms. She slowly set her down.

"Is that Kanon?" Akari asked.

"Then . . . ." Takeru looked at her with concern.

Makoto burst onto the scene. "Kanon's Eyecon disappeared! Just what . . . ." he trailed off when he saw his sister, groggily standing up. "Kanon!"

"Bro," came the sleepy reply. "What's going on?"

Makoto pulled his sister into a tight hug. "You sacrificed your wish for her? Even after all I've done?"

"Well, that's the thing," Reimu said. "I actually told the wish-granting-dude to bring us both back to life. When it said no, I tried to kick it, but it it just laughed and booted me out. When I realized what had happened, I was carrying Kanon."

"Then . . . ?"

"I don't know," she admitted.

Sage peered out from inside the temple. "Something's not right," he muttered. Suddenly the rune in the sky shattered, sending the Eyecons every which way. "It can't be . . . did _they_ notice?"

The group scattered, running off to find the falling Eyecons. "Reimu! I found Musashi!" Takeru cried, throwing it to her. She caught it as she picked up Billy the Kid." Makoto simply held Kanon for the time being.

All of a sudden, a terrible screeching filled the air as the Gundari reared up again. Reimu dashed off, leaving Takeru with Makoto and Kanon. "Takeru . . . ." Makoto spoke up. "I know I have no place to ask this of you, but can you watch over Kanon for me?"

"Of course," the ghost hunter replied. Makoto nodded, grateful, before running after the shrine maiden.

Onari and the other monks scrambled about a glade, searching for the Eyecons. "Ah! And yet another one!" Onari exclaimed as he picked up one of the mystic orbs.

"Onari!" Reimu called out. "Find any?"

"Indeed!" He bowed, holding them out to her. Suddenly, a Gundari roared past, the pressure from which knocked him over.

Collecting two of the four Onari had found, she reached for another, only to find her way blocked by Javert. "Hand over the others," the military man demanded.

The only response he got was Reimu settling into a defensive position, tucking the Eyecons away in her pocket.

"Very well," he said, transforming into the Ganma Superior. "One more won't save you," he said as Makoto ran up.

"You know he's tough," the blue Rider said.

"It doesn't matter," the red one said. "It's my job as an exterminator to get rid of pests."

Makoto smirked. "Then let me join you."

"Henshin!"

Simultaneously, the two transformed. Just as before, their Drivers called out the respective chants as twin parkas settled onto two sets of shoulders—though this time, as allies, not as enemies.

The two charged Javert, who, like earlier, blocked every attack they threw. Realizing that they were headed in the same direction, Reimu quickly retreated, allowing Javert's attention to focus his attention on Makoto as she flew, rocketing off a tree towards them to score a light—but still tangible—hit on the Ganma Superior. They managed to push their opponent back a fair bit, Makoto taking the brunt of the blows and hitting harder on the ground while Reimu distracted him with her aerial dives.

Eventually Javert managed to catch a break, sending both of them flying backwards with a scissor punch. Reimu rolled with the momentum, throwing an Eyecon to Makoto as she loaded one in herself. Two Ghost changes later and they were back to controlling the flow of battle, with Reimu hanging back in the air firing away with Billy the Kid's twin guns and Makoto using Tutankhamen's scythe to counter Javert's martial arts. However, that tactic turned out to be repeated too soon, as Makoto was blown back into Reimu, sending them both careening into a tree. With a subtle nod, Reimu tossed Makoto another Eyecon, charging forwards with Musashi's twin blades as the blue Rider channeled Edison's electricity through his rifle. The switch-up seemed to work. Reimu's fast attacks and Makoto's heavy shocks seemed to catch Javert off-guard enough that he stumbled back into a cliff. He snarled before snapping his fingers. The cliff exploded as one of the Gundari flew into the forest, knocking both Riders away with its skeletal tail. Before they had a chance to regroup, Javert was upon them, beating away Reimu's strikes and dodging Makoto's lightning. With a flurry of blows he pressed his advantage, causing them to retreat.

"Mr. Makoto!" The older Fukami was never more glad to hear Onari's excitable voice. "Lord Nobunaga is here!" Beneath his mask he grinned as he caught the Eyecon. "Thanks!"

Narita, likewise, had found another one of Reimu's Eyecons. Makoto covered Reimu's retreat and transformation with his rifle fire, enhanced by Nobunaga's power. Reimu quickly brought out the Gangun Saber in Naginata mode and, with the addition of the Condor Phone, added her own green spectral arrows into the mix. Now thoroughly irritated, Javert charged the two ranged fighters, knocking away Makoto before turning on Reimu. "Treason is punishable only by death, Specter," Javert growled, focusing again on Makoto. "It is a pity."

"The only pity here is your lack of attention!" Makoto shot the ground, causing it to crumble and give out beneath them. They rolled, now in a lower part of the forest. Makoto fired, using trees as cover as the Ganma threw phantasmic fire with his hands. Impatient, Javert concentrated his fire before throwing it, blasting through several trees before narrowly missing Makoto. Before he could recover, Javert was upon him, grabbing him and slamming the blue Rider into the ground.

Then Javert was off of him, sent rolling through Reimu's use of Benkei's hammer, channeled through the Gangun Sabers's Naginata mode and the Spider Lantern hammer mode. "You okay?" the ghost asked, tossing Specter another Eyecon.

"Of course. You don't have to ask," he said, equipping Newton's parka.

The close-range attackers bodied Javert, with Makoto using his gravity-manipulating abilities to slam the Ganma into the floor and trees, as Reimu smashed him with her hammer. Javert wasn't able to recover from this assault, and, even as he rolled away, Reimu and Makoto were already back in Ghost and Specter's original parkas. They formed some hands signs, and as the glyphs formed behind them, they cranked their Driver's levers.

"Watashi Omega Drive!"

"Specter Omega Drive!"

Javert, in a last-ditch effort, summoned the Gundari once again. As the smoke from Reimu's kick and Makoto's punch cleared, Javert could be seen on the ground, the force of the beast's death knocking him over.

"Javert, that's enough," a voice from off to the side caught the double Rider's attention.

"But sir!"

"Javert. You do not have freedom to act on your own. Refuse further and it will be treason."

Reluctantly, the commander retreated. Reimu immediately gave chase.

"Alain?" Makoto muttered, before shaking his head and following.

The two gave chase, bursting out of the forest via summoned motorcycle and flight onto an open stretch of no trees. Swerving out of the way from fireballs launched by the orbiting Gundari, they returned fire with their respective ranged weapons. One went down, and Specter took the opportunity to drive up one's back before stabbing it with his scythe and hanging on as it writhed around.

Reimu, however, wasn't so lucky. She was grabbed by the wormlike beast's skeletal tail-hand, being tossed around before being slammed into the ground. She skidded away before sliding to a halt.

She cursed. "Isn't there anything I can do?"

Suddenly, the Musashi Damashii appeared in front of her. "Take heart, Reimu," it—he–said.

"Wait, you can talk?"

"We take to the field of battle!" The Edison, Robin Hood, Newton, Beethoven, Billy the Kid, and Benkei Damashiis all flew in and nodded.

"All right, let's do this. I guess." The Parka Ghosts lined up in ascending order. Reimu leapt upwards, equipping each one in succession, and finally back with her own orange jacket. Making a triangle out of her hands, she brought her hands up, her arms followed by the ghostly afterimages of each of the heroic spirits. Gathering the energy into her foot, she shot towards the Gundari that had tossed her around, propelled from the energy from her seven Heroic Spirits. With a mighty crash, Ghost's foot blew a hole in the ghostly sky-snake, before it evaporated from the released energy. Landing, she looked up to see Specter arrive. "Nice one," he said, as the head and body of the final Gundari crashed into the earth with two separate _thuds_. Reimu smiled behind her mask as she held out her hand. Makoto, after hesitating for a second, punched it. As they turned to head back, with Onari yelling about how he found a new Eyecon, Reimu breathed a sigh of relief. For now, their work was done.

Elsewhere, Alain glared down at Javert atop a roof. "Why did you act on your own?" The Ganma prince asked. "You're not hiding things from me, are you?"

"No, sir," Javert, said, bowing.

Alain placed a hand on his subordinate's shoulder. "You do know there's a high price to pay for wasting the Gundari like that. I hope your little stunt was worth it."

Javert merely bowed deeper, before turning and stalking off into the setting sun.

"So, they have that kind of power," Alain mused. "How fascinating, these Eyecons."

Back at the shrine, the members of the Mysterious Phenomenon Institute watched as Makoto and Kanon walked away, hand-in-hand. "They seem so happy," Akari said with a smile.  
"Indeed," Onari agreed. "Truly as though nothing bad had happened."

Reimu was silent. "What's wrong?" Takeru asked.  
"Nothing," she said, a smile upon her face. However, it was obvious to Takeru that it wasn't genuine. "I'm just happy that they're back together."

He gave her a doubtful look, but said nothing. "I see."

They all stood outside for a few more minutes before heading off to their own homes to recover. Reimu, however, stayed outside, looking at the sun.

"Twenty-three days left," she murmured. She floated up to the roof, lost in thought.

* * *

 **Outside World**

"You did well," Hibiki praised, clasping Marisa on the shoulder. The Riders had reassembled at the inn after the incident ended, save for Gentaro's group. Marisa had found our that this village was one of the few youkai-only settlements outside Gensokyo, which made it a natural hub of spiritual energy—a prime target for attack. They had partnered with the Riders several times before, aiding them and providing them relief.

"Thanks," Marisa said. "I've seen Sho and Phil in action, so I wasn't too surprised at the display of power I saw. It was pretty sweet."

"Sweet, huh?" Hibiki chuckled. "I guess you could describe it as such."

They sat around the table once again. "So, what now? We got what we came here for," said Shouichi.

"Well," said Hibiki. "You all saw that crimson dome and the golden light, correct?" Nods all around. "I want someone to check it out. Any volunteers?"

"I'll go," Marisa said. "It might involve Reimu, after all."

"Anyone else?"

"We might as well," Shotaro said. Phillip nodded in agreement.

"Very well," Hibiki said. "We'll adjourn for now. Be sure to keep in touch. Let everyone know if you find something suspicious."

The Riders took their leave. "Hey, Marisa," Kyousuke waved her over. "You're a pretty great witch, you know."

"You too," she grinned, punching him in the arm. "I might steal a spell or two from you."

"Aw, shucks!" He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "You're too kind."

" . . . Normally people get offended when I copy their magics."

"Well, yeah. But I'm pretty easygoing," he said. "And after all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

She shrugged. "What are you doing after this? If you're free, I'd like to study your magic a bit more."

"That'd be neat. Sadly, it can't be today. I have a buddy to visit and a thesis to work on." He gave a helpless shrug. "Maybe in a week or two?"

"Sounds like a plan. I'll catch you later, then."

"Sure thing." Kyosuke adjusted the strap on his large pack. "You may wanna stand back for a sec." Marisa complied, watching as he conjured an open zipper in midair. It looked like a portal to a place with a _lot_ of plants. "Ciao!" he said as the zipper closed.

"He's a good kid," Shotaro said. "Quirky, but good."

"He seems nice enough," she said. "Well, let's get back. When is our visit to the temple?"

"Providing we don't have work, maybe in a few days," he said. "Sound good?"

"Yeah," she said, eager to see her friend again.

However, once they got back they were _immediately_ hit up with a missing persons case. It seems the temple would have to wait.

* * *

 **Gensokyo**

Haruto frowned, leafing through a particularly heavy tome. He had been down in the library for nearly a week, barely taking any breaks to sleep and eat. He had learned much—but it still wasn't enough.

"Mr. Soma," came the voice of the little demon. "You've been staying up far too long. You need rest."

"Huh?" Haruto blearily looked up, still partially focused on his text. "Sure, later."

Koakuma sighed and lowered the book with a finger, looking him in the eye. "Haruto, you're exhausted. You've got bags under your eyes." He scratched the back of his head, slightly embarrassed. "Seriously, go to sleep. There's no way you're figuring out anything right now."

"I'm so close," he muttered as he yawned. "Sorry. But just a _bit_ more and—"

"That's what you told Lady Patchouli a few days ago," she said. "Seriously, go to bed. You're still human. You need your rest."

He nodded and shuffled off in the direction of the lower quadrant. "Uh, Haruto? The guest bedroom's the other way." No response. Slightly concerned, she fluttered over to find the magician passed out on the floor. She chuckled slightly as she levitated him with a finger, floating him to his room. She floated him into the bed before conjuring up some covers. "Good night, Mr. Haruto." Koakuma whispered before closing the door.

Haruto woke up a day later, refreshed. Yawning, he cast a spell to freshen himself up. He exited the room and made his way back down to the library. "Morning," he said.

"It's actually one," Patchouli replied without looking up from her book. "You slept an entire day."

"Must've been tired," he shrugged. "Anyways, back to work."

A plate of breakfast foods floated by him. "I can't have you collapsing from malnourishment," Patchouli replied.

He accepted, eating as he delved back into the ancient texts. It was about an hour later he shot up, knocking the tray aside. "I found it! Here it is!"

"Soma, what did you find?" Patchouli floated over.

"A record of the history of the Kingdom of the Eye," he said. "It's mostly indecipherable, but right here is the important bit."

Patchouli read over his shoulder, her eyes narrowing. "This is important. And if it's true, we don't have much time left."

"Let's get going. How do we reach the Yakumos?"

"I know a way," she said. She floated towards the door as Haruto threaded his arms through his jacket sleeves. "Follow me."

The two magicians left the Scarlet Devil Mansion, intent on informing the nine-tailed fox of the news—big news.

* * *

 **Daitenku Temple**

Takeru knelt by the gravestone, head bowed respectfully. After a moment he looked up. "Dad. What would you do in this situation?" he muttered. "We only have twenty more days until the tenth of January. We haven't even gathered all the Eyecons again—and we're not sure we could use them for another wish if we could." He sighed, looking up to the sky. "You know, I'm scared. Scared we won't be able to save her in time. Scared all of our efforts are for nothing." He looks down in shame. "Jealous, too. She's amazing—able to connect so readily with the Luminaries so easily. I've trained so hard to be a Ghost Hunter—and I can barely do anything. Wasn't it you who told me to let my life burn bright? But right now, I'm only a candle's flicker."

For another moment, he knelt there, head bowed. He then rose and smiled. "I guess I'll just do my best. One can only do all he can." He walked away, his heart a tad lighter.

Arriving back at the temple, he found Akari and Onari in the basement. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Takeru, have you seen Sage anywhere?" Akari questioned him.

"Not as of late," he said as he descended the steps. "His kotatsu's gone, too."

"Master Takeru. We currently have eight Eyecons, yes?" Onari asked.

"Yeah. Musashi, Edison, Robin Hood, Newton, Beethoven, Billy the Kid, Benkei, and that one you picked up earlier," he said. "And Makoto has three: Nobunaga, Tutankhamen, and that purple one."

"And you said two more were taken by that Ganma, right?" Akari asked.

He nodded. "That leaves two unaccounted for."

"Then I shall be off. I shall continue my search." Onari bowed and ascended the steps.

"I'll research the Monolith a bit more." Akari said. Takeru smiled a bit as she turned back to her work. "You know, you've changed," he said.

"Hm?"

"You used to deny every instance of the supernatural—and now look at you."

"I still don't believe in all that crap," she said. "But we have bigger things to focus on right now. Besides, I can't question the fact the revival worked on Kanon. How is a different problem."

He grinned. "Still, it's a step."

The rest of the month flew by, their search for the Eyecons periodically interrupted by work and temple business. At one point Takeru even visited the hospital where Kanon was staying, to the delight of the young girl and her grateful brother.

"Can't we do anything to help Reimu?" Kanon asked.

"I'm not sure," Takeru admitted. "For now, just focus on recovering."

After Takeru left, Makoto excused himself. "I'll be right back. I just want to get some fresh air," he said as he left.

A quick bike ride later found him on a bridge overlooking a river—a favorite place for him to sort through his own thoughts. Familiar footsteps approached from behind. "So that's what you wanted the wish for? To bring your sister back?" Alain said, leaning on the railing next to the blue-clad Rider. Makoto nodded. "I wish you would have told us. We could have helped you."

"I'm sorry for keeping it a secret," Makoto apologized. "But I didn't want to burden you."

"It would have been our pleasure," the Ganma Prince stated. "We all liked you. Alain, Alia, Argos—all of us."

Makoto smiled sadly. "That's true. But you know why I didn't want her to be turned into a Ganma."

"I don't understand why you humans are so attached to your life." Alain shook his head. " . . . You understand what it means to betray us, correct?"

"I do," came the firm reply. "And I'm sorry it had to be this way."

Alain looked at him, torn between friendship and loyalty. "The next time we meet, it will be as enemies," he said finally. "The only mercy I can give you is a painless end."

Makoto gave him one last smile before putting his helmet on. "One day you'll understand my decision." He revved up his bike and rode away.

Alain frowned as he walked away, his earlier confusion now slowly being replaced by anger. "It's all those Ghost Hunters' fault," he muttered. "Tenkuji Takeru especially."

"You're just going to let him go?" Javert questioned, stepping out from behind a wall to fall in step with the prince. "Traitors are to be punished."

"And so must you, for wasting those Gundari," Alain shot him a look. An idea struck him. "Give me the Eyecons."

"But sir!"

"That's an order."

Javert reluctantly handed over the orbs. "I'm going to see my brother," Alain said. "Stay put for now. I can't have you making more mistakes." Alain conjured up a glyph, disappearing as he stepped through it.

"I've made mistakes . . . ?" Javert muttered. "Just you wait, your highness. I will eliminate _all_ liabilities." With that he stalked off, the waves glistening in the afternoon sun.

Reimu continued to train and work throughout all this—but she seemed off. She took her duties surprisingly seriously, doing them with an efficiency Takeru didn't think possible. During times they weren't working, training, or looking for Eyecons, she could be found relaxing on a particular spot on the hillside, basking in the sun.

"You know," she said on one such occasion. "The sun is really warm. It's kinda nice. I've never noticed it before."

"Really?" Takeru asked, climbing the hill. "Don't you get sun like this in Gensokyo?"

She nodded. "We do. I've just never actually took note and appreciated the small things, I guess."

New Year's was a busy affair at the Daitenku Temple. All of the monks were busy, with Reimu helping out as much as she could. Paranormal activity was surprisingly quiet. The Mysterious Phenomenon Institute took to the revelry with a smile, deciding to hide the seriousness of their situation for now.

"This is the best New Year's I've ever had," Reimu said on January 1st. "Normally it's a pain. But now it's kinda fun. It must be because I'm not doing all the work." She chuckled.

Nobody decided to comment on her odd behaviour. It was obvious things weren't right. Even so, the days continued to tick by. Finally, it was the evening on the ninth.

Onari crossed out the date on the calendar. "Tomorrow," he whispered. "And we haven't found those last four." He touched his cheek, feeling something wet. He blinked. "Ah," he said, gulping back tears. "Indeed."

Down in the basement, Akari slammed her desk in frustration. She could get absolutely _nothing_ from the Monolith—nothing at all. She sank down, as the full force of her situation hit her. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed.

Takeru meditated, not being able to sleep. "Dad," he whispered again. "What would you do?"

Reimu, for her part, simply stared up at the moon from her position on the roof. Since her time as a ghost, she had felt emotions more and more strongly—emotions she hadn't really felt since before she awoke her ability to float. She learned the joy of being happy, the crushing weight of sorrow, the paralyzing chains of fear, and the burning flame of anger. But this—this was something she couldn't quite put into words. "What is this?" she muttered. "What am I feeling?"

The morning came excruciatingly slowly, yet at the same time far too quickly. Onari, sweeping the grounds, caught a meditating Takeru and a sleepy Akari out of the corner of his eye. He somberly ascended. "Good morning," he said. "Were you two up all night?"

"Yeah," Akari said as Takeru nodded. "Working."

"Meditating."

"Have you eaten?"

"I'm not hungry," Takeru said. Akari expressed a similar sentiment.

They turned as they heard Reimu's feet touch the floor. "Morning!" she said—far, far too cheerily. She was dressed in a white hoodie with a red border, red jeans, and a black t-shirt with a yin-yang graphic—a present on New Year's from the temple. Her hair was tied up with a new hair ribbon, and her iconic hair-tubes were present.

"Good morning," Onari said, the other two bowing. Reimu looked like she was about to say something, then she bowed.

"Thank you everything," she said out of the blue.

"What?" the trio was taken aback at her sudden declaration of thanks—and Reimu wasn't the type to be grateful naturally.

"It's just in case, really," she said way too casually. "But I just wanted to say thanks for everything you've done."

Takeru looked at her strangely. The other two looked down at their feet.

"But that's just in case, right? We don't even know if I'm going to disappear." She laughed as she placed a hand on Takeru and Akari's shoulders. "C'mon, smile!"

"I suppose so . . . ." Onari managed to force out a laugh, while Akari's sounded more like a wounded dog.

Takeru started, "Reimu—"

"Big trouble!" groaned Narita's voice. Neither he nor Shibya had returned all night, adding to the worry. They rushed out to meet him, to see him collapse on the stairs, his clothes in tatters. "Shibuya has been taken by a Ganma! They're at the park!"

"Of all the days . . . ." the bald monk growled.

Takeru looked at Remu. "Reimu," he said.

She nodded. "I have to go," she said, breathing heavily. She took off, flying down the mountain.

Takeru went to the back and got his motorcycle and axe. Strapping his helmet on, he was about to leave before two figures ascended the shrine steps—a man in a white suit and a white fedora, and a girl in a black pants, a yellow sweater, and a black witch's hat. "Hello? We're kind of busy at the moment," he said.

"Ah, it's really quick," pressed the man. "We came here to investigate the golden light that was here a few months ago? We're detectives, you see."

"Ah, that's . . . ." he trailed off.

"That and this lady here," he motioned to the oddly-dressed girl, who gave him a cheeky grin. "Is here to see a friend."

"A friend?"

"Yeah, her name's Reimu," the blonde girl said. "Red dress, hair ribbons, unpleasant face. Yeah?"

Takeru's eyes widened. "She just left on a case. We have to be quick, though."

"What? Where?" the girl said, suddenly thrusting her face into Takeru's space. "Tell me!"

He waved her away. "Follow me," he said. "We don't have much time."

He brought them down the stairs, to where a motorcycle was parked.

"So, how's being a ghost treating her?" Marisa asked as Takeru hopped on his motorcycle. She mentally laughed as he fell off, a look of astonishment upon his visage.

"How do you know that?" he asked. "No, nevermind. That's not important right now."

"Hm?" She was disappointed—she had hoped to get more of a reaction out of him. "So, how is she?"

She heard his voice hitch, and then the words she had been secretly dreading for the past three months reached her ears.

"She doesn't have much time left." He looked at her straight in the eyes. "Her time ends today."

"Let Shibuya go!" Reimu yelled as she touched down on the green field, running towards the wooden tower where a black-clad Ganma stood. "Hey, it's you!"

"Yes, it's me." The Ganma jumped down. "You can have him. But you!" He glared at Reimu. "For my prince, you must die!"

"So you took him out to get to me, huh?" Reimu summoned her Ghost Driver, slamming the Watashi Eyecon in. "Henshin!"

Ghost's armor formed around him as Javert transformed into the Ganma Superior. Reimu summoned her Gangun Sword, swinging wildly at him as he dodged. He threw a punch, which was blocked.

While they were trading blows, Akari and Onari reached the tower and hurriedly untied Shibuya. As Onari comforted the monk-in-training, Akari used the power of the Spider Lantern, forming an area where ghosts could be seen. "There! Down on the beach!'

Javert had deftly dodged all of Reimu's attacks, sending her rolling with a backhand. "There is impatience in your sword today," he said. "You're worried about something, aren't you?"

"Shut up!" she said, leaping and bringing her sword down on his head.

At the last minute, he twisted out of the way, firing a blast of blue energy that sent her rolling. "It's no fun to beat opponents who aren't on the top of their game," he said. "But business before pleasure, after all."

Reimu groaned as she struggled to rise. "Not like this!" she growled.

Javert barked a harsh laugh. "Die, Ghost."

But before he could fire off another blast, he was sent flying courtesy of one fist from Fukami Makoto. "Reimu! Are you alright?!"

"Makoto . . . ." she said breathlessly.

"Take care of yourself!" he said as he blocked an incoming attack from the Ganma Superior. The two grappled for a tense minute before breaking apart.

"Specter, huh?" Javert said. "Perfect. I can take care of both of you at once!"

"Reimu!" Specter yelled as he deflected another punch.

Reimu stood, gripping her Gangun Saber, charging forward . . .

. . . only to stumble as her transformation cancelled. A shiver ran down her spine.

"Interesting," Javert said. He attempted to intercept them, but was blocked by Specter.

Onari and Akari ran down the beach, shouting Reimu's name. A soft glow enveloped the ghost.

"I should've forseen how things should've gone," Sage said, appearing along with Yurusen and Yuyuko a ways off.

"She's too stubborn, really." Yuyuko nodded in assent.

Her eyes narrowed as the sky darkened unnaturally, taking on a deep red hue as deep crimson clouds billowed in from every corner of the earth. "So, our fears were right."

The clouds drifted apart, revealing a single, massive, blood-red eye. It stared down at the world, its gaze centered on the shrine maiden. Red feathers slowly fell, coating the beach in odd plumage.

"I guess it's time," she said as Akari and Onari ran over.

Akari sobbed, gripping Reimu's jacket shoulder. "No! Not like this!"

"It's fine," she grinned, smiling brightly. "Tell Takeru I'm sorry, yeah?"  
"Reimu!" a surprisingly familiar voice called. She turned, and saw a familiar back witch hat along with the ghost hunter. She felt a pang inside her, but held it in.

"Hey, Marisa. I'm sorry that I had to die twice in front of you," she offered.

"No!" the witch screamed, grabbing her by the shirt cuffs. "Not again! You can't die! You can't!"

She just smiled sadly at her. "Takeru, thanks for these last few months. They've been great."

"Reimu . . . ." Takeru just grit his teeth, tears falling down his cheeks. "I'm sorry."

She gave the group one last glance. Akari, the annoying scientist who had surprised her with her determination. Onari, the annoying monk who had his moments of wisdom and kindness. Takeru, her ghost-hunting partner, matured from an annoying scared kid to a hunter in his own right. Finally, Marisa. The annoying pest who wouldn't stop bothering her—and Reimu's closest friend, who would always have her back.

"Tell me," she whispered. "Did I do the right thing? Though I tried to bring us both back, my heart chose Kanon."

The only one to hear her was Takeru. Over Marisa's screaming, Akari's sobs and Onari's cries, he gave her one final thumbs-up. Reimu gave a soft smile, before disappearing into a shower of golden light. On the beach, Marisa sank to her knees, wailing towards the heavens. Onari and Akari broke down, sobbing. Takeru was still in shock. With tears in his eyes, he watched as the waves swept away crimson feathers, never to be seen again.

* * *

Reimu opened her eyes. "Huh," she said as she looked around. "I thought I'd end up in Shikieiki's place—I guess I'm back here." She was back at the glade she came to when she died. A noise behind her caught her attention. Reimu turned, and was face-to-face with a man.

"Who are you?" Reimu asked. "Some lackey of Komachi's?" She sighed. "Well, let's get this over with."

"Hakurei Reimu," he said in a surprisingly warm voice. "My name is Tenkuji Ryu."

She now recognized his face—she had seen it before in pictures. "Takeru's dad?" she asked. "So you're a ghost too, huh?"

"I've been watching over you for the past three months," he said. "Thank you for watching out for my son. He's a tad clumsy, but he means well."

"Yeah," she said softly. "He really does." She sighed. "So what now?"

He smiled. "I've actually brought a visitor," he said. "Someone you haven't seen in a long time."

"Who?" Reimu asked, tilting her head. "Where are they?"

He stepped aside, and Reimu gasped. She had long, black hair, a stylized version of the normal _miko_ outfit, and a warm, motherly smile. "Reimu, it's been so long."

"Mom!?" Reimu strode over, hovering her hands over her mother as if she was afraid that with a touch, she'd shatter into a million pieces. "W-what's going on?"

Her mother smiled softly. "I'm so proud of you, Reimu," she said. "Mr. Ryu and I have been watching over you two. You've done well."

Three months of emotions came crashing down on the shrine maiden, and she sank to her knees with tears streaming down her face. "I don't want to die!" she cried out. "I don't want to leave my f-friends behind!"

Reimu's mother embraced her, rubbing her back. "It's okay," she whispered, "It's okay."

After a minute or two of crying, Reimu wiped her tears. "I'm sorry, mom," she said, sniffling. "I must look like a mess, huh?"

"You look wonderful," her mother said, beaming. "You are my pride and joy, after all."

Reimu sniffled again. "I wanted to protect them. I wanted to spend more time with my friends and laugh and fight and do all the stupid things we do back home," she said.

Reimu's mom stood up, helping Reimu to her feet. "You can, sweetheart," she said. "You and Takeru have a big job to do."

"Huh?" she said, still wiping her tears on her sleeve.

"Connect the souls of the Luminaries. Guide them to the future." Reimu's mom said.

"What are you talking about?"

Mr. Ryu placed his hand on Reimu's shoulder. "I'm sorry for getting you involved," he said. "Your mother and I agreed that this was the best way to do things."

"What do you mean?" she asked, puzzled. All of a sudden, Reimu's mom pulled her into a tight hug. Her confusion was only multiplied as Tenkuji Ryu embraced both of them as well. "W-what?"

"I love you," her mother whispered into her ear.

"Tell Takeru I am always watching over him—and I love him always," Ryu said.

The two then dissolved into golden light, their essence flooding Reimu's body. She could only stare in shock as they disappeared, leaving her alone.

On the beach, situations hadn't changed. Marisa howled, pounding the dirt with angry fists. Akari and Onari were frozen, simple sobbing into the sand. Takeru tightened his fist as tears streamed down his face.

Makoto was still fighting Javert—he was grateful that there was something to keep his mind off of what just happened. "I'm going to protect them," he growled as much to himself as he did to Javert.

"Don't make me laugh," the Ganma Superior said, firing a spectral burst of flame. It hit the blue Rider, knocking him back and cancelling his transformation. Makoto struggled to rise, shielding the other four with his body. "I will eliminate all liabilities."

"Leave me and run!" Makoto howled. "Get out of here!"

"No!" Akari screamed. "If we lose you too . . . !"

Suddenly a black blur flashed past them. "Marisa, no!" Takeru shouted.

Marisa screamed a primal scream, swinging her broom at the Ganma. "Give her back!" she cried hoarsely.

Javert easily sidestepped the wild attacks. "You shouldn't have gotten involved," he said, backhanding Marisa into the sand.

Marisa rolled, coming to a stop some distance away. Ignoring the other's shouts, she roared again as she brought out her mini-hakkero, unleashing a wave of Master Sparks at the ghost. The force of the magical laser blew apart the water—crystallizing the sand into glass underneath from the spell's heat. When she was all out of energy, she lowered her hakkero, panting.

The smoke cleared. "Interesting power—for a human," Javert said. "But not _nearly_ enough." He casually held out his hand, pelting her with a wave of his own. When the blue flame vanished, she collapsed, utterly spent. The Ganma Superior charged up his flame. "Now to finish you." He paused as an axe bounced off his skull, embedding itself into the sand. "Or maybe I'll start with you," he said, turning to Takeru, the owner of the axe. "Regret defying me as you burn in hell, boy." He raised his hand. Takeru shut his eyes, bracing for death.

A death that never came. When he opened his eyes, he saw Javert on the floor, and before them, a figure glowing gold. The light died down, revealing a familiar jacket, ribbon, and hair tubes. The massive eye in the sky retreated, the clouds giving way to blue heavens.

"Reimu?" he said, not daring to believe it. The rest of the group expressed similar disbelief.

"Is that really you?"

Sage, from his vantage point, simply scoffed. "Ryu, you fool. What made you think this was a good idea?"

"You too, Hakurei Miko," Yuyuko sighed. "Seriously, the both of you."

Reimu turned towards the group. "Sorry, guys," she said with a sheepish smile. "I, uh, kinda have things to do. So I guess I can't die?"

"Yup, she's dead," Onari declared. "Reimu doesn't smile or get sheepish. This is merely a dream."

"Hey."

Marisa stirred slightly. "Rei . . . mu?" she called out softly.

Reimu looked at the downed forms of Marisa and Makoto. "Thank you, guys," she said. "I'm sorry for leaving you." She turned towards Javert, who had started to advance again. "But I'll take it from here!" She held out a red orb, summoning her Ghost Driver.

"A new Eyecon?" Takeru gasped.

Reimu pressed her hands together, and to everyone's surprise (including hers), she exploded into a pillar of flame.

Loading the Eyecon into the Driver, she was met with a "READY TO FIGHT!" before the standard "AYE!" As flames danced around her, a deep crimson jacket danced around her.

"Henshin!" she cried as she pumped the lever. The Driver energetically called out a new chant and the name of her Eyecon: "Fighting eyes open! BOOST!"

The flames surrounded her, swirling in and turning into her armor. Gone was orange bone marking over midnight black—now, her suit was a pure red, adorned with black flames. The Boost Parka fell onto her shoulders as the Driver shouted, "I am BOOST! The rumblin' Ghost!" Go! FIGHT! Go! FIGHT! Go GO!"

The smoke cleared. Kamen Rider Ghost Boost Damashii stood before Javert, fiery spirit burning inside her.

"What is that form?" Javert growled, launching an assault upon Reimu. To everyone's surprise, she blocked all of his strikes, using minimal movement. "What!?"  
"I can feel it," she muttered. "Mom's skill! Mr. Ryu's experience! I can feel their power flowing through me!"

"Just what are you talking about!? The Ganma Superior yelled. Reimu's response was to ignite an arm on fire and sock him across the jaw, sending him rolling. "Impossible!"

Reimu made a hand sign. From her driver shot out a weapon—a strange red sword with a flamelike blade. Javert shot fire at her, but she brought the weapon down, blowing it away.

Javert continued to angrily launch his spectral fire, even as Reimu deflected each shot with a slash, casually walking towards him. When she got close enough, she flashed the crimson blade once—twice–three times across the ghost's chest, flinging him backwards. As Javert struggled to rise, she formed a triangle with her hands. As a crimson glyph formed behind her, she pumped the Driver's lever. "I'm gonna let my life burn bright!" She yelled.

"Fighting Eyes Wide Open!" Crimson flames gathered around her right foot. She charged forward as Javert did the same. She lept, and, for a single moment, she could feel time slow down around her. Then the Driver shouted "Boost Omega Drive!" and her foot meet the Ganma Superior's chest, igniting an explosion so powerful it shattered the glass-sand and evaporated the surf. As she landed, a strange Eyecon fell onto the sand—and promptly shattered. She cancelled her transformation, turning back as she was met with her ecstatic friends.

"Miss Reimu!" Onari cried out, tripping over himself with joy. Akari supported Makoto as they walked over at a much calmer pace, with Takeru bringing up the rear. "Hey, what happened?"

"I'm not too sure," she admitted. "But it seems that Takeru's dad—and my mom—lent me their strength."

"Your mom?" Marisa said, groaning as she sat up. "The previous Hakurei Shrine Maiden, right?"

"Yeah," she confirmed. She held up that strange red Eyecon—the Toucon Boost Eyecon. "They're right here, I think."

Makoto chuckled weakly. "It seems you've surpassed me now, Reimu."

She shook her head. "Just in raw power. You're still far more skilled than I am," she said. "In any case, thanks for protecting them. You too, Marisa, Takeru."

Makoto shook himself out of Akari's grip. "Makoto?" Akari asked. "Where are you going?"

"I have something I need to do," he said, wincing with every step.

"Makoto," Reimu spoke up. "Once you're done with that, we should fight the Ganma together."

"It's a deal," Makoto smiled. He then hopped on his bike and zoomed off to parts unknown.

"Well, you're alive," Marisa said, smacking the shrine maiden on the back. "It's time to celebrate, right?"

"Not yet." Sage said, as he, Yuyuko, and Yurusen all phased into view. "You're still a ghost—but your time has been frozen. Thanks to the efforts of Miko and Ryu, you no longer have a time limit."

"Is that not good?" Onari questioned, while Marisa asked Takeru who the old dude was. "Now we may collect the Eyecons at our leisure!"

Yuyuko shook her head. "No. This wasn't supposed to happen. Something's off—and you will soon be facing enemies more powerful than you could ever imagine." She locked eyes with Reimu. "Are you prepared?"

"We're going to have to be," she said. "Whatever they throw at us, I'll beat down."

Yuyuko's eyes probed her for a second more, before she giggled. "That's a very Reimu answer," she said. "Take care now!" The three spirits disappeared.

An exasperated Reimu rolled her eyes. "Of course they would."

"Well, what now?" Takeru asked, having been strangely silent throughout all of this. "Finish collecting the Eyecons?"

"We'll worry about that later," Marisa said, flinging her arm around Reimu. "First, we party! Like back home!"

"About that," Hidari Shotaro said, coming up behind them. "We have a case, Marisa." At the others' inquiring gaze, he tipped his white fedora. "Hidari Shotaro. Detective for hire and chaperone for Miss Kirisame here."

"Hey! Sho!" Marisa indignantly stormed over to the left half of W. "Where were you? I could have died!"

"I was about to help, and then your ghost friend took care of it," he said. "Besides, it turned out alright, didn't it?"

She kicked him in the shin. "Jerk!"

As he howled in pain, Reimu said, "Let's get back to the temple. I'm beat."

And so the group left, heading back to the temple. Shotaro interviewed the temple's members on the way there, making sure he got all the information he could about the incident of the red dome and gold light. Finally, they found themselves at the base of the footsteps to the Daitenku Temple.

"Well, it's been fun," Shotaro said as he and Marisa bowed, "But we have to take our leave. Work starts bright and early tomorrow."

"Can't stay for dinner?" Onari invited.

"Nah, it's a bit of a ride to Fuuto." He hopped onto the Hardboiler. "Marisa, let's go."

Marisa hesitated, before pulling a surprised Reimu into a tight hug. "Marisa?" Reimu squeaked.

"Don't do that ever again," she whispered, not quite loud enough for her friend to hear.

"What?"

"I said if you die I get your stuff!" she stuck her tongue out at her as she hopped on the bike. "Later!" The pair zoomed off down the road. Reimu shook her head. "Honestly, she's a strange one," she said. The group ascended the steps, excited to share the news with Narita and Shibuya.

Shotaro and Marisa merged onto the highway. "So, she's important to you, huh?" Shotaro grinned.

"Nothing like that, weirdo," she slapped the back of his helmet, causing them to jostle a little. "If I'm honest with myself, she's one of my closest friends. I get a bunch of weird looks back home for being a magician. She treats me the same as everyone else, and she's had my back more times than I can count."

"So your partner, hm?" He smiled. "I can certainly relate." The two carried on, ready to get home to enjoy annoying, but still well-loved, company.

Back at the temple, the two monks-in-training had gone to bed, tired and injured. The other four sat around the table, talking, laughing, and generally enjoying life.

"So, connect the souls of the Luminaries, hm?" Onari asked. "Then you can get your wish to come back—and all without a time limit!"

"Sounds right," Reimu said.

"Hey, Reimu," Takeru spoke up. "Did my dad have anything to say for me?"

"He said something about watching over you," she scratched her cheek. "And loving you, I think."

"Way to be emotional," Akari slapped Reimu. Takeru looked off, lost in thought.

"In any case," Onari said. I believe this marks the grand re-opening of the Mysterious Phenomenon Institute!"

"Well, let's make it a celebration!" Akari suggested. Reimu nodded as Takeru grinned, putting aside his thoughts for now.

"To a successful Institute and Reimu's resurrection! Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

Though the Institute would have many trials and sorrows to overcome in the future, they would always hold steadfast. For now, at least, there was life, love, and laughter.

* * *

Author's note: Sorry it's a week later, guys. Summer school has started. I've got a bit more written up, so I'll be able upload for a few more weeks. Also, we're entering a new arc. We're done with the ninety-nine days. I have big things ahead for our motley crew.


	7. Chapter 7: Dreams Are a Man's Soul

**Chapter 7: Dreams Are a Man's Soul**

The twelfth of January found the Mysterious Phenomenon Institute hanging about at the Temple, having received no cases of supernatural occurrences to solve. Reimu, Akari and Onari sat around the common table, the Eyecons laid out in a neat order.

"So we have eight, and Master Makoto has three." Onari said. "That leaves four unaccounted for."

"Didn't that weird Ganma guy take two?" Akari asked. "So that means two are out there, to our knowledge."

"You know," Reimu asked, holding up the Watashi and Boost Eyecons, "Why don't we pool our resources with Makoto? That way we can swap Eyecons as the situation calls for."

"You just want to try out Nobunaga, don't you?" Takeru asked as he walked in.

"Shut up," Reimu greeted. "How was your trip to the gravesite?"

"Makoto showed up. He said that he's not ready to join us yet, but he's planning on helping us out soon," Takeru said as he sat down with them. "Reimu, how's hearing the voices of the Spirits coming along?"

"No," she groaned, leaning back. "I don't get it. I could hear Musashi's voice that one time. Why can't I hear him now?" She made a face at the Eyecons. "You should just be good and connect with me already."

"Yes, because that will make them want to do so," Takeru deadpanned.

Reimu's retort was interrupted by Onari's exclamation. "We have an incident!" he crowed. "Strange things are happening down in the park!"

Their feud forgotten, Takeru and Reimu nodded. The next moment they were on their way.

* * *

The four ghost hunters were quick to find the source of the commotion—a massive crowd surrounding a well-dressed man. "Hey, that guy's infused with an Eyecon," Yurusen pointed out.

"Henshin!" Reimu cried, already forming her black-and-orange armor.

"Hey, wait!" Takeru cried out. "Excuse me, it's not safe here." He and the other two attempted to clear the confused crowd as Reimu leapt at the sharply-dressed man.

"Ganma, quit causin' me trouble!" she yelled, throwing a punch. He grabbed her arm and twisted it around her back, much to the surprise of those present.

"Ganma? You're a rather poor judge of character, girl." The man said with a surprising amount of authority, before flipping Reimu up into the air and onto her back.

Yurusen spoke up as Reimu lay groaning. "That's no run-of-the mill Eyecon, Reimu. That's Ryoma!"

" . . . who?"

Takeru stepped over her and kowtowed. "Forgive us, sir! We didn't realize who you were!" He stood up. "Please, Reimu needs to link with your soul."

Reimu shoved him aside. "Yeah, Ryotaro or whoever. Let's do this soul-link, yeah?"

"You . . . " Sakamoto Ryoma began.

"Yeah?"

" . . . are rude and disturbing."

"Hey!"

"Reimu, he won't understand unless you explain your situation," Akari said. "Go on."

"There's no need," the spirit said, turning his host body away. "You are the one that brought that girl back, are you not?"

"That simplifies things," she said. "So, c'mon, help me out."

He laughed. "Let me ask you something, then." He turned and looked into her eyes. "What is your dream, girl?"

"My dream?" She said, tilting her head.

"A man's gotta have a big dream! One they're willing to bet their lives on!"

"But I'm a girl."

"Semantics!" he dismissed. "So, what's your dream?"

"I don't have time for that," she waved her hand. "I have things to do, Ganma to exterminate."

"Dull!" He frowned. "Hm. In that case, why don't you forge a Sat-Cho Alliance?"

"A whatawhat now?"

"You are referring to the time you brokered an alliance between the feuding Satsuma and Choshuu forces, which would later change the future of the nation, are you not?"

"Exactly!" Ryoma grinned. "At least there are _some_ here who know their history."

Ignoring Reimu's indignant cry, Takeru frowned. "But how are we supposed to do that in the modern world?"

Their answer would have to wait—the actual source of commotion reared its ugly head via strange phone noise. Reimu and Takeru dashed off, looking for the source of the disturbance.

As they left, Ryoma smirked. "She's rude on the outside, but she's got a strong sense of duty. With proper channeling, she should be able to make great things of that."

* * *

Up on a rooftop, the dome-headed Planet Ganma laughed as he absorbed human souls. It was quite a simple thing, really. Send out electrical impulses that would interfere with communication devices, causing whoever was holding said device to "give up the ghost," so to speak. He wondered if what Prince Alain said was true, that there'd be interference—

"Ganma! Quit or be exterminated!"

—Ah, there it was. He didn't bother even turning around— _he_ would take care of the pest.

Reimu yelped as she dodged a swing, narrowly avoiding the black blur. "Jeez, cool it, willya?" she said as she spun away. She lept back, giving herself some space. And then she gasped.

A creature robed in the inkiest black, with jagged bones sticking out from its chest. Its vile mouth was home to razor-sharp teeth, and a serpentine tongue snaked out.

"You're the one who killed me!" Reimu snarled, "Didn't I exterminate you already?"

With a guttural growl, it moaned, the inky blackness of its chest bubbling. From out between the ribs a tengu mask popped out with a horrible, wet squelching noise, falling onto the ground. It shakily held out a blank Eyecon, which floated above the fan, absorbing it. The shining eyecon went back into the creature, flaring up in a spark that caused Reimu to shield her eyes. When the light died down, the black bone-creature was no longer gone. In its place was a normal Ganma Empowered—an inky black body clad in an outfit relating to whose soul they currently commanded. This one, however, seemed different. Its feet ended in red talons and its arms in red claws, wrapped in wooden arm guards. It was draped in a traditional Japanese kimono, the chest area adorned with fluffy balls of sorts. From its back sprouted pitch-black wings. Atop its head it wore a red _tokin_ hat, and upon its face a fearsome mask with a long nose.

"I am the Tengu Ganma," it said in a deep voice. "You shall die to the first youkai Ganma, Ghost."

"I'd like to see you try!" She summoned her Driver and Eyecon. "Henshin!"

She launched her attack, but it was quickly blocked by a modified tengu fan. She spun, summoning her sword, but was blown back in pain as the Planet Ganma sent electricity coursing through her body.

Akari and Onari were panicked—they could hear the sounds of battle, but couldn't see the specters fight it out. "Of all the days to forget the Spider Lantern!" Onari cried.

"I'd move elsewhere, if I were you!" they turned to see Makoto running towards them. He transformed, blue armor forming over his body. "Get out of here!" he shouted as he vanished from view.

Reimu was glad to see the other Rider fighting alongside her. "Hey, you're late," she teased.

He smirked. "Let's go, Reimu."

"Yeah!"

With the battlefield being evened up, it was clear that the two Riders had the upper hand. Specter knocked the Planet Ganma through a wall as Reimu clashed blades with the Tengu Ganma uptop the roof. It was clear that he was no Katana Ganma—even in her Self form, Reimu's bladework was superior. Specter took a few more lumps, thanks to a barrage of planet-shaped energy blasts, but he powered through them. He changed into Nobunaga, firing away with the Gangun Hand, smashing apart the summoned spectral spheres.

Their efforts eventually drove back the two Ganma. "Retreat for now," the helmeted ghost said. "We have more important things to do." Before the Riders could act, they disappeared in a burst of phantasmical flame.

The Riders cancelled their transformation, coming back into the realm of the seen. "Thanks, Makoto," Reimu said. The blue-clad man slightly smiled. "No need to thank me," he said as he waved, walking away. Takeru caught up with the others, and explained where he'd been.

It turns out the Sat-Cho Alliance Ryoma had mentioned was a collaboration between his host, Tamura Nagamasa, and his host's father, Shachinoshin. Takeru and Reimu, accompanied by the glasses-wearing Namagasa, went down to the factory to settle the issue. There had apparently been some bad blood between the two, causing them to argue, and they were promptly kicked out.

"I don't see why we should press the issue," Reimu yawned with a finger in her ear. "They don't want to, so let's just leave 'em and find another way to bond with the Eyecon or whatever."

Namagasa paused before taking off his glasses. "You're not too bright, are you?"

"Huh?"

Ryoma sighed. "When a man gives his word, he follows through with it!"

"But I didn't give my word and I'm a girl—"

"Semantics!" he dismissed. "You still haven't said your dream, you know."

Reimu huffed in frustration. "Fine. I want to have an easy life, unhindered by morons get in my way and ask me about stupid things. You happy?"

Ryoma barked out a laugh. "You really amuse me, girl. When you're ready to tell me what your _actual_ dream is, maybe I'll listen to you. For now, you have a guest to entertain."

Reimu and Takeru yelped as the Tengu Ganma returned, slashing at Reimu with his steel-clawed fan. "Don't take it personally," he said. "It's just orders."

"Who ordered you to kill us?" Takeru shouted, while Reimu, tired of the day's crap, pulled out the Boost Eyecon. Her armor flared up, with the Boost Parka settling onto her shoulders.

"Let's go, Mom, Mr. Ryu," she said, pulling out her red sword.

Into the night they fought, Reimu's attacks overwhelming the Ganma in sheer strength, and the Tengu's attacks overwhelming Reimu in sheer speed. "Hidden blade: Swallow Return!" the Tengu Ganma called out, forming a blade of wind with his fan. He flew into the air and dove at Reimu, striking with each pass. She skidded away, breathing hard. "I've got to do something about that speed," she muttered.

"Miss Reimu?" a familiar voice called out. She turned to see Onari holding up the Spider Lantern, ghost-revealing particles fading away. "Are you having trouble?"

"What does it look like?" she grunted as she dodged another swipe.

"Why not use the new Eyecon?" he suggested, tossing over the light green one he found back in December. "It might have some use!"

She caught it and shrugged. "All right, whoever you are, time to show your stuff!"

A pale green Parka Ghost flew out and settled onto her shoulders. "Eyes open! Goemon!" the Driver shouted. "The kabuki of awe! Breaking the law!"

"Lord Goemon!" Onari was ecstatic. "A ninja is the perfect choice for dealing with speed-types!"

Reimu nodded. "Let's see, what you can do."

Onari was right—Goemon's ninja speed and agility were an easy counter to the Tengu Ganma's flight. Soon enough, with one Omega Drive, Reimu skillfully cut the Ganma down. As per usual, the ghost exploded in a pitch-black flame and the Eyecon binding it shattered—but Reimu was more interested in the fan. She picked it up, examining it. "Huh," she said, her armor vanishing, "I wonder who this belonged to? He did say it was a youkai."

She turned it over, and her breath hitched. Inscribed on the fan's handle was a name: one she was all too familiar with.

"What's the matter, young mistress?" Onari asked, coming up to her.

"This fan," she breathed. "It belonged to someone in Gensokyo. It belonged to the Shameimaru clan."

* * *

The next day at the temple, Akari was hard at work on her laptop, plugging data away and searching for trends of the attack.

"So the disruptions are spreading?" Takeru asked, leaning in to watch over her shoulder.

"Yes," the scientist answered. "Here," she pointed to a cluster of dots, "was the original range of the paranormal activity. And this," she zoomed out, "is the updated range."

"It's getting more powerful," Onari noted.

"We can't let that happen," Takeru declared. "I'm off."

"Wait, Takeru." Akari said, closing the computer and putting it in her bag. "We'll go. You have that thing to do with Reimu, right?"

"The Sat-Cho Alliance?" he glanced at Ryoma, still possessing his host, eating a bowl of rice in the corning. "We don't really have time to be wasting on family squabbles. Besides, Reimu's definitely not the one to handle this."

Akari placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Just focus on other things for now. Shibuya and Narita are with us, right?"

The other two monks nodded. They had recovered from their injuries and were on back at work. "Leave it to us, Takeru," Narita said. "Go find Reimu and do the thing."

As the four left, Takeru sighed. "Where are we even supposed to start? Reimu's off sulking somewhere and I have no idea how to resolve your situation."

"You'll figure it out," Ryoma chuckled. "You know, you have good friends. Even Reimu—as irritated with her as you are right now, I can see that you two are close. Don't let your emotions get in the way of that friendship."

Reimu, in the meantime, was in the basement, still pondering the fan. "Hey, Gramps," she called out.

"Yeeees?" the enigmatic spirit said in that annoying voice she hated.

"Hey. Can you give this to Yuyuko?" she said, tossing the fan his way. "She'll know what to do."

"What is it? A fan?"

"A tengu's fan. It was part of the Ganma I defeated earlier—the one that killed me."

"Okaaaay. Also, Takeru's looking for you."

"Ugh, fine."

Takeru and Reimu ended up talking with Ryoma's host for a while. It seems that Nagamasa had been working on satellites with his brother and father. One day, his brother and his father got into a big argument. The brother ran away, only to be killed in a car accident.

"So that's it," Takeru muttered. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You didn't do anything," Nagamasa smiled sadly. "But ever since then, my father has distanced himself from space."

The group's silence lasted a few minutes, broken only by Reimu scratching the back of her head and crying out in irritation. "Gah! Let's just get this over with!" she almost shouted. "I'm going to talk to your dad, and by the time I get back, you two had better have made up!" With that, she floated off.

Reimu easily snuck into the father's workplace—floating through walls was a rather nifty tool. Tamura Sachinoshin was muttering something about his son and space, when Reimu said out of nowhere, "Well? You want to work with him. Just get to it!"

"What the devil!?" he spun around. "It's you! How did you get here?"

"Trade secret," she said. "More importantly, I have a soul I need to connect to. Hurry up and work with your son so I can get on with my life."

"My son . . . ." he looked downcast again. "It's too much for me. One dies, the other leaves."

Reimu suddenly felt a pang of pity for the old man. _Huh, wonder where that came from_. "You know your son wants to work again with you," she said, more gently this time. "It's your dream, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it was," he said softly. "But not anymore."

Reimu frowned. They both wanted the same thing—how should they get together?

"How should we bring them together?" Takeru repeated the question. "I don't know."

They were outside again. Takeru frowned, deep in thought. "I'm not sure how to do this."

They were interrupted by a call. Takeru picked up his phone. "Hello?" he said into the mobile device.

"Takeru! We're being attacked!" Shubya's panicked voice came through. "Help us!"

"Wait, what?" Before he could say another word, the line went dead. "Of all the times . . . !"

"Wait," Ryoma said, stopping the two ghost hunters in their tracks. "Panic won't get you anywhere. You don't even know where they are."

"But still!" Takeru was again interrupted by another phone call. "It's Makoto!"

"Takeru, Reimu," Makoto's voice came through. "You guys worry about your problems. I'll handle things." They could hear the familiar sound of an Eyecon being activated as the line went dead.

"I guess that takes care of that," Reimu shrugged. "Now, let's get a family to work together."

* * *

Elsewhere, Alain knelt in at the end of a long hall, walls painted in a deep, rusty red. "Brother," he said, head bowed. "There's something I must ask you."

From his place upon his throne, Adel tapped a finger. "Speak, brother."

"Why didn't you tell me about the power of the Eyecons?" Adel questioned him, standing up. "You knew of them and told Javert. Why?"

"What possible use would we have with a living body?" Adel said loftily. "We are Ganma, superior to humans in every way. A living bag of flesh has no use to us—save only as weapons or fodder for experiments—just like those two mortals. Makoto and Kanon, were they not? Now, if you have no more questions, be gone. I have important matters to discuss with a confidant."

Alain bowed, but his chest twisted inside him. How dare he call Makoto and Kanon fodder? How dare he usurp his position as commander? And how _dare_ he treat him like some ignorant peasant!? With these thoughts burning inside him, Alain took his leave, boiling in rage.

* * *

Makoto threw a Ganma Assault into the horde, ducking a swipe. He fought through the woods, using the trees as cover as the two monks retreated to safety. A sudden impact caused him to stumble a bit. Turning, he was greeted with the sight of the Ganma Superior.

"You again," he muttered. "You don't give up, do you?"

"I, Javert, will be the one to bring you down," the now-named Ganma replied.

"Perfect," Specter replied. He de-loaded his the Specter Eyecon and activated the mysterious dark blue one that wouldn't work before. "Houndini!"

"Eyes open! Houndini!" From seemingly out of nowhere, his bike roared, leaping into the air of its own accord—and splitting in half, revealing a Ghost Parka inside. It settled upon his form, chains draped across his chest, securing to him two large wings, each in the shape of a motorcycle. The wheels revved as the Driver called, "Any trick you envision! The master magician!"

"A new form?" Javert scoffed. "No matter! It won't change a thing!"

Things did appear to have changed, however—one punch was enough to send the Ganma Superior rolling.

"What!?" Javert growled. "First Ghost, now you?"

"Technically, Reimu's is a straight-up upgrade," Makoto responded. "Mine's just a normal Parka Ghost—one that, for whatever reason, bonded with my bike as well. It hits like a bike, doesn't it?"

Javert's only response another growl and a fireball. Makoto turned, blowing through the flames with his bike-wings. "I went through a lot to cooperate with Houdini. Let's hope the result pays."

For all of Javert's power and skill, Makoto was one-step ahead. He seemed to have a trick for everything Javert pulled out—summoning binding chains, disappearing into confetti, even flight. After one particularly nasty blow Javert had enough. "I tire of this. Fine, human, take your quarry and leave. But we'll be back next time—and no surprise tricks or spontaneous evolutions will save you then." With that, he vanished.

Makoto detransformed. "Not bad for our debut, hm?" he asked Houdini's spirit, who glowed in agreement. "Now, let's get those two to safety."

* * *

Reimu and Takeru had similar luck, managing to reconcile the family—just in time for a worker to collapse and to receive a call saying that Akari had done the same. They ran outside, only to be confronted by a horde of Ganma at a satellite dish. "It seems they've taken over the satellite," Takeru said. "How are we going to get control back?"

"Dunno, but we'll have to beat them anyways," Reimu said. She turned to the assembled company. "Guys, stand back. You can't see it, but it's dangerous here."

The Planet Ganma turned to see the shrine maiden and ghost hunter once again. "Ah, you two. I really hope you haven't come to stop us. That would be most unfortunate."

"You're a big guy," Reimu responded. "You can handle it."

"For you." the Ganma chuckled. "I can tell you don't like what we're doing. I apologize; we're just doing what we need to for our home."

"What you're doing is trampling on people's dreams!" Takeru yelled. "It's not right!"

Reimu nodded, stepping forward. "I don't know what my dream is," she admitted. "But I can certainly protect those of others."

"Well said!" boomed the voice of Ryoma, once again possessing the younger Tamura. "An admirable sentiment. I will now fight alongside you!"

"What about the alliance? I didn't really do anything," Reimu asked. "Are you sure?"

"Semantics!" he laughed. "And I look forward to knowing what your dream is someday." With that the Eyecon materialized into Reimu's hand. She transformed, letting Ryoma's long coat fall over her. "Awaken, Japan! New day at hand!"

Reimu easily cut apart the hordes of Ganma with her sword, only to find that the Planet Ganma, in a burst of flame, had rocketed skywards at a breakneck pace. She took off after him, switching into Boost to take advantage of the form's spectral fire to, well, boost her along.

Eventually, she caught up, floating in the upper layers of the atmosphere. It wasn't a sight she hadn't seen before, but even two trips to the moon did nothing to diminish the beauty of that situation.

"I can't believe he followed me!" the Planet Ganma cried out, firing ghostly spheres at the Ghost. She yelped and rocketed out of the way, switching back into Ryoma Damashii. She summoned her red sword once again, the blade shrinking down to reveal a gun barrel. "Hey, that's a thing," she muttered. "Hey, Ganma!"

"What?" the Ganma continued his assault. "You can't keep this up for long!"

"Don't need to, it's almost time!" She pumped the lever on her Driver, initiating an Omega drive.

"What?"

"Space time!"

"Omega Impact!"

The gun's flaming barrage crashed into the Ganma, destroying him instantly. From his remains a multitude of souls rushed back towards Earth.

"Good job," Ryoma's disembodied voice spoke in her mind as she began to descend towards the planet. "You do well for someone who knows nothing about our history."

"Why are you even with me anyways?" she asked, her spiritual body protecting her from re-entry's friction.

"To see your dream, of course. That's why I decided to tag along, girl."

 _I'm going to be the best miko you've ever seen, you hear me!? I'm gonna make it so everyone, human and youkai, can live in peace! Without having to kill each other! I'll do that no matter what it takes!_

"My dream, huh?" Reimu muttered, the blackness around her steadily turning blue. "I wonder too."

* * *

Deep within the Ganma's world, in the palace, Alain stood in a chamber of odd stone. In his hands he held a strange, green sphere.

"The Necrom Eyecon," he whispered. "Finally, you see the light of day again, after one hundred years."


	8. Chapter 8: The Perfect White Rider

**Chapter 8: The Perfect White Rider**

"That was an odd one," Reimu put her head down onto the table, tired out. A few days had passed, and their most recent case had netted them the Himiko Eyecon, as well as Musashi's and Robin Hood's respect. "I never want to see another Cossack dance again."

"I'll be hearing Russian music in my head for the next week," Takeru moaned.

"That bad?" Makoto asked, pulling up a chair. Akari and Onari were arguing again, this time about the nature of the afterlife. They walked in, glaring, as their foreheads ground against the other.

"Yeah," Reimu moaned. "Freaking Vodka Ganma."

"Vodka?" Onari and Akari ceased their gripping for the time being.

"Yeah," she said. "He was Russian, so the Vodka Ganma." Takeru nodded at her sentiment.

"Ah, I see," Makoto agreed.

"Uh, isn't that racist?" Akari asked.

"How so?" The rest of the company present tilted their heads.

"You know, by stereotyping an entire race of humans?" Akari asked incredulously. "Seriously, I know Japan's not the best with this stuff, but come on, guys."

"Pshaw," Onari said. "You say the strangest things, Akari." Reimu and Makoto nodded in agreement.

"Really, you guys?"

"You would have understood if you had saw him," Takeru said.

"You're hopeless," Akari decided. "In any case, I'm off to go research the Monolith some more. There's got to be something I can find." With a huff, she turned and walked away.

"What's her deal?" Reimu asked.

"I think she's part Russian," Takeru said. "Her dad was half or something. Or maybe that was "

"Is that why I keep on finding bottles of Kissui in the basement?" Onari asked.

"That might be Sage. Oooor you might be right," Takeru admitted.

After an awkward moment of silence, Makoto spoke up. "So we have a total of thirteen Eyecons?" he asked.

Reimu nodded, placing the brightly-colored orbs on the table. "Musashi, Edison, Robin Hood, Newton, Beethoven, Billy the Kid, Benkei, Goemon, Ryoma, and Himiko," she said.

"And I have Nobunaga, Tutankhamun, and Houdini," Specter said, following her lead. "That just leaves the two you said were taken by the Ganma Superior—Javert." He looked up in thought. "You certainly have a lot, huh."  
"Jealous?" she smirked. "Actually, we were thinking of collaborating our Eyecons together. That way we could all use whatever we needed for the situation."

"Sounds like a plan," Makoto said. "Though I don't think Houdini will work for you. He's stubborn, and needs to get to know you first. He also requires a bike," he said as an afterthought.

Takeru thought for a second. "You know, can Reimu use the Specter Eyecon and you use the Watashi one?"

"I'm not sure," Specter admitted. "Want to try?"

"Sure," Reimu said, summoning her Driver. She tossed the Self Eyecon to Makoto who gave her Specter. "Henshin!" she said, loading the Eyecon with Makoto following suit.

To their mild surprise, they both managed to transform. Reimu now donned a slightly more feminine version of the Specter armor, while Makoto's Ghost was a broader version of Reimu's form.

"Hey, it worked!" Takeru cheered. Onari, who had left to get the Spider Lantern, came back and shone the light, making them visible.

"It feels . . . different," Reimu said, admiring her form. "I feel stronger and heavier. Kinda like a big rock."

"I feel lighter," Makoto said, doing a few hops. "I can understand why you prefer to hang back."

"Want to spar a bit?" Reimu asked. "You know, to try things out."

"Sure."

The company made their way out to the clearing in front of the temple. They took up opposite fighting stances across the wayside. "Ready?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah," Reimu answered.

"Begin!" Onari announced.

Reimu made the first move. She rushed at Makoto, aiming for a punch . . . only to trip and stumble. "You okay there?" Makoto asked, helping her up.  
"Ugh. You're too clumsy," she complained, standing up. She walked over to her side of the field. "You need to lose some weight, you know?"

Behind his mask, Makoto rolled his eyes. "Fine, my turn." He charged, launching a kick . . . only to go soaring past her and into a wall.

"You're too light," he muttered. "How can you even stay on the ground? You need to eat more."

"Hey!"

The two eventually got used to each other's forms, getting a feel for their new armors as Takeru wrote down notes. Things were settled with a half-hearted Omega Drive from each side, knocking them back enough to slam into the courtyard walls.

"Ow, okay," Reimu grumbled. "Let's not do that again."

"I concur." Makoto winced as he stood, clutching his side. "It's one thing to get hit by a Drive in the middle of battle—another to get hit by one in practice."

"Iiiidiots!" Yurusen poofed into view, taunting. "That's why you don't use Drives haphazardly! You're gonna be feeling it later~"

"Aw, shut up," Reimu griped, hobbling over to the steps. As she and Makoto sat down, wincing, Takeru asked, "Hey, Yurusen. I've been watching these guys transform for a bit, now. What's the deal with those sliding faceplates?"

"You mean the Persona?" the eyeball spirit floated over to the ghost hunter. "The Persona slides over the Transient's face."

"What?" The three looked at her, confused."

"You guys don't know any of this, huh?" Yurusen chuckled smugly. "The Transient is the base form for the Ghost and Specter armor. It really just serves as a conduit for the Parka Ghost's power, which is why a Persona fits on top of it—it kinda locks it into place. That's why you feel a rush of energy when the mask slides on. It's giving you the power." She turned to Reimu. "Reimu, yours is called the Persona Pantheon. Makoto, yours is the Persona Berserk."

"Berserk?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. 'Cuz Specter gets stronger with emotions and stuff. And Ghost is most adept for rapid-fire Ghost Changes."

"Huh, really?"

"Yeah, but you really shouldn't let that get in the way. It honestly doesn't matter all that much," she dismissed.

"What are the suits made of?" Reimu asked after a second. "They must be pretty hard to break, right? Even though Makoto broke my mask—Persona, you said?—that one time."

"And I'm sorry for that," Makoto said, eyes slightly downcast.

"They're made of spiritual energy," Yurusen said. "The Parka Ghosts are made of the same stuff."

"Intersting," Takeru said, scribbling. "Well, that was a lot more informative than I imagined."

"Yeah, yeah. Call me if ya need me," Yurusen waved. "Later, kids!"

"Wait, one more thing," Reimu asked as the spirit turned back. "Are you a dude or a chick?"

"Huh?"

"You sound like a girl, but I know this one firefly that looks like a dude but is a girl. So I've learned not to judge."

"Really?" Takeru gave her an aside glance.

"No," Reimu admitted. "So, what is it?"

"I'm a girl, can't you see!?" Yurusen slapped Reimu with her tiny nub-arms. "Hmph! How rude!" With that, she poofed away.

"For shame, Reimu," Makoto shook his head.

"Yeah, for shame," Takeru agreed.

"Hey!" she grumbled. "And I didn't even get to ask why Boost's sword had glasses."

They went back inside to join Onari, who had left earlier. The rest of the day was filled with laughter. They were completely unaware of the storm that was on the horizon.

* * *

The next day, they received another case. It seems that, in a suburban area, there were reports of people hearing strange moaning and odd sounds. Yet another source said they had seen strange objects floating. Realizing that this was probably the work of Ganma, the Ghost Hunters mobilized. One short trip later found themselves in the reported residential district, ducking through alleyways in an attempt to find the source of the noise.

Takeru held out a hand. "Yup, they're here," he said.

Makoto and Reimu nodded, transforming.

Akari shone the Spider Lantern's light upon the empty field, causing her and Onari to yelp at the sudden appearance of a shambling horde of Ganma Assaults.

"Why are there so many?" Akari shreiked, hiding behind Reimu as Onari hid behind Makoto.

"Don't worry," Takeru said, bringing out his handaxe. "Even I can take these guys on."

The Riders and Takeru set to work, easily driving back the brainless spirits. Watching him from out of the corner of her eyes, Reimu smiled. The young, cowardly boy had matured into an able fighter—maybe not one fit for dealing with a Ganma Empowered quite yet, but still able to keep himself alive.

"Hey, Makoto! Reimu!" the eighteen-year-old said. "Watch this!" He brought two fingers up to his face, concentrating. From inside his pockets the Eyecon he picked up all those months ago glowed. Yelling, he spun in a circle, slashing the Ganma with his axe glowing orange.

"Impressive," Makoto said, kicking another Ganma in the chest. "Where'd you learn that?"

"Hard work," he grinned, lobbing his axe into the face of a spirit. "Maybe I'll be able to take on a real Ganma soon, huh?"

"Maybe," Reimu agreed. With a combination of Reimu's agility, Makoto's brute force, and Takeru's calm axework, the three drove back the horde with little trouble. However, their momentum came to an end when a glowing eye-glyph—the source of their troubles, presumable—spat out a green ball of phantasmical flame into their midst, knocking down the Ganma from the force. As the dust cleared and the flames faded, in their midst stood a man in white armor, adorned with a green-and-black Parka. His face was a circle with a single horn protruding from it. His Parka was bulky, cylindrical pauldrons emitting tubes running down to the Parka's sleeve hem. He wore no Driver upon his waist—but upon his wrist was a curious boxlike device, seemingly unwieldy in design.

"Makoto, who is he?" Takeru asked, gripping his asked.

"Never seen him before," came the reply. Reimu simply summoned the Gangun Saber.

Silently, the man raised his hand. The downed Ganma sprang back up, advancing toward the three in tight, disciplined formations. With another motion they attacked, no longer the moaning zombies of before.

"He's controlling them," Makoto realized, dodging a knife slash. "Takeru! Get the other two out of here!"

"Right!" Takeru rolled out of the way of a stab and, with another burst of orange energy, cut down the ghosts in his way. "Akari! Onari! Let's go!"

The three hurried along, only stopping to protect Akari as she picked up a strange object. "That can wait! Let's go!" Takeru said. The three made it out safely, leaving only Reimu, Makoto, the Ganma and the strange armored figure.

"Nobunaga!" Reimu called out as she formed the Gangun Rifle. Her orange parka was replaced by a regal purple one. Makoto donned the white hood of Benkei, turning around his Gangun Hand and attaching the Spider Lantern to it, turning it into a hammer. With a swarm of bullets and powerful swings, the two once again blew away the horde. Specter charged at the mysterious person, knocking aside Ganma with heavy blows.

"Once again," the green-hooded person said in a frighteningly familiar voice, "I must needs remind you of my power, Specter."

That gave Makoto pause. "Alain?"

With wordless grunts, the Ganma prince began his assault. His fighting style was akin to Javert's, not wasting any energy with cold, efficient movement. But where Javert toyed with his prey to savor the heat of battle, Alain, with machinelike precision, quickly brought the Rider to his knees, kicking him through a wall and into an abandoned warehouse. Reimu in flew after him, firing rifle shots, but Alain dodged, launching a green ball of fire from his hand at the shrine maiden. She swerved out of the way, only to be brought down via a knee to the chin. She rolled with the blow, regrouping with Makoto some distance away.

"Makoto, who is this guy?" Reimu said, breathing hard. "I thought you said you didn't know him!"

"I didn't know Alain could transform," he muttered. "Alain, why?"

"I can't forgive you," came the curt reply. "Neither Ghost nor that meddlesome pest, Tenkuji Takeru. You've changed Specter, twisted him from the man he was before."

Makoto roared a challenge, swinging his hammer at Alain's side. With surprising strength, Alain blocked it with one arm before thrusting a palm into Makoto's midsection, sending him careening back.

Reimu took aim. "What the heck are you even talking about, you weirdo?" she shouted, spraying bullets at the white Rider.

Alain simply shifted, his midsection turning a liquid green, causing the bullets to pass through. "I'm saying individual life has no value, simpleton. That Specter should betray us by choosing humanity is an unforgivable crime."

An axe flew through the air. Specter caught it, turning to the new offender.

"You're wrong!" Takeru said, throwing axes slung across his hip. "Every life has individual worth!" He charged up an axe with his orange power and threw it, arcing it towards the Ganma.

"Tenkuji Takeru," the white Rider said. "You are the one to blame most of all." He dissolved into liquid once again, the axe passing through him as he slithered up to the human and grabbed him by the throat. "You humans are always quarreling with yourselves and with anyone else. What enjoyment do you get out of your suffering?" Takeru feebly kicked at him, his blows harmlessly bouncing off of the pale armor. "There is no value in it. We shall unite the world in our own image—all will be one in the Great Eye." He threw Takeru back, causing him to skid across the hard concrete. "That is what will serve you and your kind best."

* * *

Adel looked upon the field of battle through a red screen. "He took Necrom without permission," he muttered. "But it's fine. Let's see what he can do with the ancient system."

* * *

Alain caught Goemon Specter and Tutankhamun Ghost's blades in both hands. With a quick twist of his wrists, he twisted their weapons out of their hands and sent them flying with twin palm strikes. Hearing the call of their Omega Drives as they got up, he summoned a host of Ganma before him, intercepting the attacks meant for him. Behind his Persona, he smirked in amusement as they despaired at their situation.

"Our attacks missed?" growled Makoto.

"No, he blocked them," Reimu muttered. "And even if they had connected, he would've dissolved anyways." She looked across the room, at the unmoving Takeru. "This isn't good. If we're not careful, we could hit Takeru."

Alain held up two Eyecons. "Now it's my turn," he declared, enjoying the sounds of shock coming from his opposition.

"Those Eyecons!" Reimu gasped behind her mask. "They're the ones Onari said Javert stole!"

Alain clicked one of them, which immediately discharged a burst of green static. "Resistance is futile," he said, and with a flash of green light, he overpowered the Eyecon's will, activating it.

He pulled out an Eyecon from the device upon his left arm, causing his bulky Parka to dissolve into green drops. Loading the overridden Luminary into the now-open slot, he rotated the device so that the bulky boxlike part stood parallel with his limb. "Yes sir," the contraption intoned. The Riders could now see that the "box" was a curious device—a cube that contained the Eyecon, and a green L-shaped arm that stood stood up from the main compartment, ending in a smaller, green cube. He pressed a button on the device's side, causing a Parka Ghost to materialize and hover over the prince.

"The Parka's eyes are purple," Makoto muttered. "That can't be good."

Alain pressed the button on top of the device, causing a curious drop of green fluid to drip down through the device and into the Eyecon. "Eye drop! Grimm!" the machine declared. Alain rotated the transformation trinket back to normal as the Parka Ghost was forced to equip itself onto his form. "Mega clarity!"

"Fighting pen!"

Alain gestured, and the two spikes on his shoulders shot out, trailing behind them tendrils of dark green. The pen-tipped tentacles assaulted the Riders, coming at them from every which way before wrapping around their captives and hoisting them into the air. With another motion, the two Riders were slammed repeatedly into the floor, the ceiling, the walls and each other, before finally being tossed away like trash.

"Interesting," the Ganma Prince said. "So this is the power of a hero?" He looked down upon the fallen forms of Makoto and Reimu. "Now. You will give me your Eyecons."

A sudden blow from behind caught him off-balance, sending him tumbling. From his position in the dirt he could see a riderless motorcycle zip over to his downed opponents and split apart, turning into a jetpack for Specter. He wasn't able to move again before the two Riders escaped, grabbing Takeru and flying through a broken window. Alain watched them go, taking out the Eyecon as his armor dissolved into green liquid. No longer dressed in brown garb and scarves, he wore the black-and-gold uniform of the Ganma's millitary—same as Javert. A mantle upon his right shoulder indicated the difference in their rank. "No matter," he said, looking down at the Necrom Eyecon. "I have all the time in the world."

Back at the temple, the ghost hunters sat around the table, the mood heavy. Takeru lay down on a mat, asleep. The bruises hadn't quite faded from his neck yet.

"Makoto, who was that?" Reimu asked. "You sounded like you two knew each other."

"Alain, prince of the Ganma," Maokto said. "His family took care of us while we were in the Ganma's world."

"Is this true?" Akari asked Kanon, who was present as well.

The younger Fukami nodded. "Yes. As a matter of fact, Alain was Makoto's best friend."

"Hm." Onari frowned. "Then why are they fighting?"

Makoto suddenly pushed back his chair. "Excuse me," he said. "I have to leave."

"Where are you going?"

"I have business to settle," he said. Before the others could react, he left, and they could hear the roar of his motorcycle's engine fade away.

* * *

Makoto found Alain standing on a bridge, staring at the bright blue sky. Even now, his obsession with the human world's blue sky didn't cease.

"I thought you didn't have anything else to day?" Alain said, not looking at his former friend.

"You still don't know the truth," Makoto said.

"Oh, but I do," Alain said, turning his head. "All will join with the Great Eye and become one. That is the way of things."

"It's really no use, huh?" Makoto muttered. "Fine." He burned his Driver into existence.

"This is unlike you," the prince said, unclasping the Mega Ulorder from his belt. "I'll just have to send you back home myself. By force."

He slapped the Ulorder onto his left wrist, causing straps to materialize and fasten it to his arm. He pulled out a square, green Eyecon, activating it. "Standbye," the Driver's deep voice intoned as he loaded it in. He twisted the brace, causing it to stand upright. "Yes sir!"

He pushed the button on the side, causing the green Parka Ghost to materialize. "Loading."

"Henshin!" both Riders called.

Alain pressed a button, causing a green liquid to drop onto the Eyecon. "Mega Clarity!"

As the Necrom Damashii equipped onto Alain, Makoto heard the Driver call out "Crush the invader!" With a cry and a stoic grunt, their fists met.

* * *

Reimu flew, already in Boost Damashii, scanning the area for the two Riders. An explosion caught her ear—a lucky break. She Ghost Changed as she dove down, drawing Billy the Kid's two guns and firing away. She landed in front of Makoto, her feet causing sparks as they skid across the ground.

"Of course you'd do this," she rolled her eyes behind her mask. She then saw Necrom staggering backwards. "Hey, he's not green!"

Necrom had indeed turned black, his armor losing its viridian hue. With a huff, he threw out several Eyecons, summoning several Ganma Assaults. The eye on his chest flashed—and the Ganma dissipated, their inky black bodies melting into liquid and flowing into Necrom, who regained his color.

"It's fueled by Ganma!?" Makoto growled. "Reimu, be careful!"

"Don't have to tell me twice," she muttered, taking to the air as Makoto rushed in with Tutankhamun's scythe. However, even with the two Riders playing to their strengths, Necrom's bag of tricks continued to one-up them at every turn. At one point Makoto even landed an Omega Drive kick, only for Specter to take over a summoned Ganma Assault after the first body was destroyed.

"You really thought you could beat me?" Necrom taunted. "How quaint." He shifted the brace to its upright position again, pressing a button on the side to the Urloader's deep "Destroy!" "Goodbye, Specter."

Reimu rushed in, inserting the Boost and Billy the Kid Eyecons into her sword's hilt while scanning the Gangun Gun across her belt. She stood over the downed Makoto, switching the sword to gun mode.

Necrom simply jumped and created a green glyph in midair. It dissolved into his foot, and though Reimu countered his kick with an Omega Impact of her own, it wasn't enough, and the two heroic Riders were blown away.

Necrom landed, scanning the area for signs of life. But before he could complete his search, his suit once more faded black and, with no more Ganma to fuel it, dissolved. "Out of time, huh?" Alain muttered. "No matter. I have what I need." With that he created a blue eye-glyph in midair and stepped through it, vanishing.

The battered Riders slowly made their way back home, expecting to get an earful for dashing off like that. Instead, a frantic Onari greeted them. "Miss Reimu! Master Makoto!" he called out. "Have you seen Master Takeru?"

"No, why?" Reimu said. "I thought he was recovering."

"He is gone!" the bald monk cried. "We searched high and low, yet he seems to have gone off somewhere!"

"What!?" Makoto said, wincing as he stepped forward. "Is this true!?"

"Indeed," Onari replied. "He just . . . disappeared."

Fearing the worst, the two Riders set off, anxiety weighing down their hearts. They feared the worst—and only hoped they got to him before it was too late.

* * *

As nighttime fell, Takeru searched the piers, shining the Spider Lantern's light. Though he could see ghosts, he couldn't actually see in the dark. He held the Bat Clock in gun mode in his other hand, just in case.

"Looking for someone, Tenkuji Takeru?" He jumped as Alain's voice cut through the darkness. He spun, the mystic lantern revealing a figure with messy brown hair in black military garb.

"Yeah," he said, lowing the lantern. "What do you want with Makoto?"

"Simple," the Ganma said, stepping forward slowly. "He betrayed us, so by martial law, he shall be executed, then brought back within our forces."

"What!?" Takeru nearly shouted. "You'd go so far as to kill your friend!?"

"His physical body means nothing to us. His soul is all we require," Alain dismissed. "But he is not so willing to come back, and that pesky Ghost keeps on interfering. So matters must be settled."

"I see," Takeru muttered. "But you'll have to go through me first!" He drew his gun and fired.

Caught off-guard, Alain dove to the side. When he recovered, Takeru had equipped all three of the support gadgets to his axe, boosting it as his Eyecon shone. "I'm gonna let my life burn bright!" he declared, swinging his blazing axe towards the Ganma Prince . . .

. . . who caught it, shattering the blade in his hand.

"Did you really think it was going to be that easy, Tenkuji Takeru?" Alain scoffed, twisting the hunter's arm, causing him to cry out in pain. "Oh, no. I was planning on letting you go, but thanks to that little stunt, I now have _plans_ for you." He shoved Takeru into the floor, before taking out a Ghost Driver from out of his uniform and holding it above him. He loaded a strange black-and-white Eyecon into it and pulled the lever, causing the Eye Energy Crest to shine with a malicious light.

"Tell me, boy," Alain said, squatting over the moaning Tenkuji.. "What dark secrets do you hold?"

"What?"

Alain's eyes flashed the same color of the Driver's. "Ah, resentment," he said, pleased. "Frustration, fear, jealousy, and bitterness. Perfectly detestable human emotion."

Takeru fell silent, shocked at what he heard. At last he spoke up. "Yeah, I'm jealous of Reimu," he muttered. "She's a natural who picks up things right away without having to do any work. I've been training all my life and I'm nowhere near her skill level." He looked off to the side, ashamed. "She doesn't treat the heroes with respect, just bossing them around like tools to be used. She's lazy and rude and greedy." He then glared at Alain, his eyes full of fire. "But she's still my friend. I won't let my feelings get in the way of our friendship. I won't help you!"

"Oh, but I think you will," Alain said. Standing, he amended, "Or at least your _soul_ will." He let the Driver fall, it making contact with the boy's waist. His eyes went wide.

Takeru's screams echoed throughout the peir and over the water. Pain lanced through his body as his soul was forcefully extracted from its vessel, absorbed into the Eyecon through the Driver. Takeru's Eyecon disappeared into a shower of orange sparks, flowing into the Driver's eye. The young ghost hunter cried out in agony as spectral flames consumed his body, burning away his mortality. After what seemed like an eternity, Takeru's eyes glazed over, and he breathed his last. His body had turned to ash, and the Driver, his spirit having been absorbed into the Eyecon, fell to the floor with a clatter.

Alain smiled as he picked up Driver. "At least Saionji had his uses," he said, once more pumping the Lever. Takeru's spiritual body took form, emanating out from the Driver in a shower of light. His eyes were blank, staring off into nothing and his face betrayed no emotion. "Dark Ghost," Alain smiled. "My new friend."

Takeru said nothing.

"Let us go," the prince of the Ganma said, standing. "We have work to do, before we can bring Specter back home."

Summoning an eye-portal, they stepped through and vanished. Several hours later, when the Mysterious Phenomenon Institute came upon the scene of the crime, all they found were the scattered Ghost Gadgets and the broken remains of Takeru's axe.


	9. Chapter 9: A Tale of Two Ghosts

**Chapter 9: A Tale of Two Ghosts**

"So what exactly are we looking at?"

Marisa, Kyousuke and Haruto were all gathered around a table in Shotaro's small apartment. Assorted papers and documents were scattered across the wooden surface, detailing histories of kingdoms long past. Currently, a dusty tome was open, frayed pages revealing a glyph of a stylized eye. Marisa spoke up again. "It looks like an eyeball."

"Uh-huh," Haruto nodded. "The symbol of the Aeqyotis Kingdom. They existed several thousand years ago in central Europe. They worshipped a strange idol, whom they called the 'Eye of the Dead God.' It granted them a strange and powerful magic—outside references refer to them as the 'Kingdom of Spirits'." Haruto paused. "However, they vanished without a trace about a thousand years after they were first referenced. Nobody knew where they went. Neighboring kingdoms only have records of an empty plain where the central kingdom once stood-as if they were never there at all."

"Woah, spooky," Kyosuke said. "So why bring them up? Unless you think they're related to our current case."

"Exactly," the group turned their heads to see Patchouli Knowledge exit the basement. "You've seen those strange eye-glyphs around. That symbol matches the one in this book." She coughed. "Shotaro, thank you for allowing me to check out the basement. It's quite fascinating, really."

From his desk, the detective nodded. "Thank _you_ for inviting Phillip over to your mansion. He'll be busy for days."

She nodded as W's left half returned to writing up a report. "So it's very possible that the source of our current crisis is a ghost kingdom."

"Woah," Marisa's eyes went wide. "That explains Reimu, then. But what are we going to do about this?"

Haruto smirked and, with a flourish, flashed several flight tickets. "We're going to Germany."

* * *

A week had passed since Takeru's disappearance. The Mysterious Phenomenon Institute had been busy trying to find their disappeared comrade in addition to their standard Ganma pest control. Not a sign of the Ghost Hunter was to be found, however.

Reimu sighed as she returned home from dealing with a rather stubborn spirit who just wouldn't go down. She kicked off her shoes at the temple's entrance before making her way down into the central room. She flopped down into one of the chairs, exhausted. "Ugh, that one was a pain. The Eyecon Transporter you developed was a great help, though."

Akari, not looking up from her laptop, nodded. "It was too risky to always bring the Eyecons with you. I figured a teleportation device would be necessary at some point."

Reimu nodded, unclipping the boxlike machine from her waist. It was small enough that it wouldn't get in the way of mobility—large enough for a single Eyecon. "Any luck on Takeru?"

"None," Makoto said. "We've tried pretty much everywhere. It's as if he just up and vanished."

"Do you think Necrom had anything to do with it?"

"Doubtful. Alain may be against us now, but kidnapping isn't his type," Makoto said, looking over at his sister, who nodded. "Alain was always kind to us. I'm sure that we can make him see things our way," Kanon added.

"Dunno, he seemed pretty ruthless when I was dealing with him," Reimu muttered. "You sure?"

"I'm positive."

They turned as Onari entered. "Another case," the monk tiredly said. "More paranormal activity. I told our client we'd be there tomorrow. Reimu, rest up."

"Got it," the shrine maiden yawned, realizing just how tired she was. "Then I'll hit the hay early. Man, actually having a job is tiring."

Reimu left the table to a heavy mood, and was rewarded with restless dreams of broken axes and the pained cries of a young man.

The next morning, the two Riders rolled out. Via motorbike and flight, they quickly made their way downtown, where the client was, standing in the middle of a public square. He matched Onari's depiction—a mature man, with short black hair and goggles atop his head, wearing an odd gray uniform. About his neck he had a strange sphere worn like a necklace.

"About time you got here," he said in a haughty tone, his hands clasped behind his back. "It's rude to keep one waiting, you know."

"Yeah, yeah." Reimu rolled her eyes as she and Makoto jogged up to him. "So what's the problem?"

The European-looking man laughed. "So hasty. But I'll oblige you." He pointed a gloved hand at an alleyway in between two shops. "I saw two strange figures down there. They floated right through the wall." He paused. "Well, what are you waiting for? Chop chop!"

"Jeez, we're going, we're going." Reimu sighed, exasperated. "C'mon, Makoto, let's go."

"That uniform," Makoto muttered as they walked towards the indicated location, looking both ways as they crossed the street. "I swear I've seen it before."

"One of your Ganma buddies?" Reimu asked, pausing just before the alley. "Could this be a trap?"

"Perhaps," Makoto said. "But we need to get the job done anyways."

Reimu shrugged. "I guess so."

The two transformed, vanishing from mortal view. Pulling off their hoods, the two Ghost Riders scanned the backstreets for trouble. They scanned the street, looking past the shops and the clutter.

"There," Makoto said, pointing at a shambling black figure clad in a purple cloak.

"Behind us as well," Reimu said, pulling out her Gangun Saber in gun mode, aiming it at blue-robed Ganma. "I don't think they've noticed us."

With a moan, the Ganma began to run at the two Riders.

"Never mind," amended Reimu. She quickly scanned her weapon for an Omega Shoot as Makoto did the same.

"Self Omega Shoot!"

"Specter Omega Spark!"

With a volley of orange blasts and a piercing blue laser, the two spirits quickly met their end. However, from the explosion of spiritual energy, Eyecons floated past the surprised Riders and back down to the main street. They turned just to see the client standing there, Eyecons in hand, a look of satisfaction upon his smug face. "I'd hoped they'd last longer," he admitted, "but in any case, good work. You passed the calibration test."

"Told you," Reimu muttered. "Hey, who are you? You're clearly not a regular client."

He scoffed. "Peasants such as you don't deserve to hear my name uttered from my mouth. You tell her, Specter."

Something clicked. "That's Igor," Makoto said. "The Ganma Kingdom's Chief of Science."

"Now you remember?" Reimu groaned. "Ugh. What do you want, old man?"

"Just one more calibration test," he said, ignoring the jab. In a burst of blue flame, the Ganma Superior once more stood before them. However, he was also garbed in a mysterious white cloak and hood. "Defend yourselves." With those two words of warning, the scientist shot forward, knocking away Reimu with the back of his hand. Makoto roared and grappled with him, jumping up to the roofs to get space. The two wrestled for a sec before Reimu burst over them, clad in the blazing armor of Boost, Sunglasslasher over her head. "Take this, you freak!" she spat, bringing the blade down. The scientist rolled out of the way, knocking Makoto into Reimu's attack.

After a quick apology, Reimu backed up, creating space between her and the Ganma. "He's tough," she admitted. "Tougher than Javert."

"Javert?" Igor interjected. "Bah. He couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag." He raised his hand. "I, on the other hand, can."

Before the swirling blue flame in the Ganma's palm could be unleashed to wash over the two Riders in a wave of fiery pain, a voice gave them pause. "Hold, Igor."

A glyph shimmered to life in midair. The Ganma Hole—what Reimu had decided to call the strange eye-shaped symbol—opened its solitary eye, and out onto the rooftop stepped the white Rider.

"Necrom," Reimu hissed. "So, this is all your doing."

"Lord Alain," Igor said, bowing. "I am in the middle of an experiment. Please, I ask you to come back another time."

"Don't lie to me, Igor," Necrom scoffed. "You just want to have fun. Don't forget, this entire thing was your idea."

"My prince speaks the truth," Igor admitted. "Well, mortals, it seems that my playtime is over. You, however, will get to bear witness to the fruits of the greatest scientific mind alive." With that and a chortle, Igor stepped through the portal.

"Alain, what do you want?" Makoto growled. "I'm not going back."

"Oh, dear Specter," Necrom laughed. It was a hollow sound. "You've already made it clear you didn't want to be my friend. So I found another."

"What do you mean?" Reimu asked, a small pit of dread growing in her stomach.

"Oh, he's just _dying_ to meet you," Necrom replied. "Come on out, Dark Ghost."

Reimu's eyes widened behind the Pantheon as a black-clad figure stepped out from the Ganma Hole. He was clad in a black coat and pants, gold trim lining the hems. Across his chest five golden bars in decreasing size descended. His hair was a messy light brown, and his brown eye were blank and vacant.

"Takeru!" Reimu gasped. "What's going on?"

"Tenkuji Takeru was a bit hesitant at first," Necrom taunted, "But in the end, he was able to see my side of things." Takeru said nothing.

"What did you do to him?!" Makoto roared. "He wasn't involved with any of this!"  
"Oh, but that's where you're wrong, _dear friend_." They could hear the sneer in the Ganma Prince's voice. "You caused this. You betrayed us and our mission—there's going to be consequences."

"Leave him out of this!" Reimu yelled. "Fight us! We're the ones you want!"

"It's too late for that." Necrom turned, patting Takeru—no, Dark Ghost—on the shoulder. "Try not to break them too badly, okay? Igor and Adel want them intact." With that, he stepped into the Ganma Hole and disappeared along with the glyph.

"Takeru . . . ." Reimu muttered as Makoto shouted his name. "What did they do to you?"

The eighteen-year-old didn't respond to her question, instead burning a Ghost Driver to life upon his waist in a burst of dark flame. "Henshin," Takeru's voice rasped, as he loaded a black-and-white Eyecon into his Driver and pumped the lever.

"Eyes open! Dark Rider!" Spiritual particles converged onto Takeru's body as the outlines of bones shone above his limbs. A black parka swirled around him, a red eye glowing atop Takeru's black-armored form. The parka fell atop his shoulders, a single-horned Panthon clicking into place. The white mask's black eyes were in the form of dark flames. "The power of darkness! Evil in excess!" The Driver sang.

Dark Ghost lunged, catching the distraught Riders off-guard. His assault was neat and precise—in the same manner of Javert and Alain. "Takeru, wake up! It's us!" Makoto yelled, blocking strikes that held strength he didn't know Takeru had.

"Takeru!" Reimu brought about her weapon and fired a volley of spiritual bullets into the dark Rider's back. He turned, and she could feel his glare. "It's us, you numbskull! We've been looking all over for you! What happened?!"

Dark Ghost responded by yelling a growl that Reimu would have never thought would sound fearsome coming from Takeru. From his Driver he summoned his weapon—a battle axe, adorned with the Ganma's symbol of the eye. Its harsh blade and spikes gleamed cruelly in the sun.

Reimu switched the Gangun Saber to sword mode and brought it around to block Dark Ghost's heavy chop. She staggered back—Takeru _definitely_ wasn't this strong. "Takeru, listen to us!" she yelled, pushing back. "Fight it! It's us, your friends!" The only reply she got was a heavy foot to the chest. She stumbled back, gasping for air. Thankfully, Dark Ghost didn't press his advantage, as Makoto had taken that opportunity to come out swinging. He had since changed into Benkei and used the soul's heavy attacks to drive the dark Rider back. Reimu changed into Musashi, the added power of Boost driving her strikes as she attacked with both the Sunglasslasher and the Gangun Saber. Reimu, even in her distress, noticed that Dark Ghost didn't actually hit as hard as her or Makoto could—he wasn't as strong as Boost or Specter when he was fueled by rage. In fact, he just seemed to be a souped-up version of the Self form. Knocking him away with a well-placed cut, she nodded to Makoto. Specter scanned his Gangun Hand across the Energy Eye Crest, forming a spectral hammer out of his weapon as his Driver called out "Omega Bomber!" He yelled as he swung, knocking Dark Ghost into the air with a powerful uppercut. Reimu loaded Boost and Musashi into the Sunglasslasher, and scanned the Gangun Saber over the Energy Eye Crest. With a war cry, she shot into the air, her blades trailing crimson flames behind her. Thrusting them over her head, she brought the blades down upon Dark Ghost's stunned form, sending him crashing to the earth in a blaze of spiritual fire. She landed, panting. "Did we get him?"

"I'm not sure," Makoto said, peering over the edge. "It looks like it. He's not moving."

They leapt down to the street, ignoring the panicked onlookers who had been startled out of their day with the sudden appearance of a flaming crater in the middle of the road. Thankfully, nobody had been hurt. Reimu and Makoto approached Takeru's downed form, weapons held out at the ready. "Takeru?" Reimu said warily. "Can you hear us?"

Suddenly, Dark Ghost shot up, rising in a twisted, nonhuman manner. He seemed to be jerked into the air, like a puppet on strings. He glared at the two Riders from beneath his Persona. He held out his hand, and his axe arced through the air into his waiting palm from where it had dropped on the rooftop. He scanned it across his Driver's Energy Eye Crest, charging it with dark flames. "Omega Crush!" his Driver called out.

"Crap!" Reimu hissed, blocking with her weapons. She couldn't use another Omega Drive just yet—she and Makoto were still on cooldown. Even worse, they didn't have much in the way of defensive abilities. "It was a trap!"

Takeru swung, slashing an arc of shade energy. The cut cleaved right through the weapons and into the Riders, causing them to slump over, their transformations vanishing. Thankfully, the nature of their powers meant that they wouldn't be ending up with massive scars across their midsection, but they'd still hurt all the same. As Dark Ghost stood over their prone forms, axe raised high, a Ganma Hole spawned into life. He turned, gave them one last glance, then vanished. Reimu watched him go the Eye closing as the pain overwhelmed her, sending her to inky blackness.

* * *

Back at the shrine, the Ghost Hunters debriefed with the rest of the Mysterious Phenomenon Institute. Akari and Onari seemed relieved that Takeru was alive, but worried at his current state. Kanon, however, simply frowned off into the distance.

"I don't even know what to do," Makoto sighed. "He's clearly being manipulated. We tried knocking it out, but you saw how that worked."

"I still can't believe that they managed to get two Riders that were stronger than you in such a short frame of time," Onari said. "Well, I guess it is possible. After all, Miss Reimu managed to pull Boost out of virtually nowhere."

As Akari shot Onari a dirty look, Reimu frowned. "I don't think that's it," she said. "It's true Necrom is stronger than us at the moment—but he doesn't seem to have Boost's raw power. Instead, he's got a bunch of gimmicks up his sleeve that negate all of our abilities."

"He can turn into liquid," recalled Makoto, "And possess his footsoldiers after he's been downed. He can also absorb them to fuel his suit." He frowned. "He needs the fuel because he's on a time limit. He's strong and got plenty of tools. There's got to be a drawback somewhere. We just need to find a way around his abilities."

"Same thing with Takeru—Dark Ghost, rather," Reimu nodded. "He's only slightly stronger than my Self form. Either one of us could take him on in a legitimate fight. It's just that he caught us off-guard."

"We don't know anything about his powers," Akari said. "He was able to destroy your guys' weapons so easily."

"Yeah," the two Riders looked downcast. "It especially sucks that we don't have any hand-to-hand Eyecons," Reimu complained. "Just weapon-based ones."

"I think I can help with that," a voice they hadn't heard in a while echoed throughout the temple. They all turned to see the elderly figure of Sage, wrapped in his normal multicolored robes, Yurusen floating above his shoulder.

"Sage!" Reimu said, surprised. "Where have you been all this time?"

"My apologies," he said gravely. "I have been quite busy. There are urgent matters that require attending to."

"What kind of matters?" Akari asked.

"Personal ones," he said, "As well as matters that will concern you in the future. But that's neither here nor now." He looked at Reimu. "You'll need a new set of weapons. The Gangun Saber was an old weapon—a relic of a bygone age. Given time, I can acquire some current equipment. Same for Specter." He paused. "However, I'm going to need some help. I'll let you know when—hold tight for now."

As he turned, Akari spoke up. "Er, Sage. Takeru's—"

He held up a hand without turning around. "I know. Don't worry, he's still there. You'll be able to free him soon. Just keep on doing what you can." With that cryptic statement, he and the eyeball sprite vanished.

* * *

Alain quickly strode through the dark halls, followed close behind by Takeru's silent form. Throwing open a door, he stepped inside the Ganma's throne room. "Alia," he demanded as he stormed down the red carpet, passing pillar after pillar, "I was summoned. What is it?"

"Alain," the Ganma's princess answered. She was a tall woman, with dark-blonde hair reaching down to her shoulders. She was clad in a furry white dress with a white shoulder wrap. "Come here. Father is quite ill."

A shock went through the younger man before he shook his head. He knelt before the throne, the white-uniformed figure of the Grand Imperial Majesty seated upon the massive chair. "Father. What ails you?"

The Grand Imperial Majesty gave a low sigh. "I'm sick, Alain," Adonis said. "I'm going to take a leave of commanding the invasion for a while. Follow your sister's orders for now. I will resume command when I have recovered."

He bowed his head. "Father. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"For now, hold off on another assault to your area," he said. "Focus your efforts on another part of the world. The resistance the mortals have been putting up is worrisome to me. If you could do that, it would greatly relieve my stress."

He bowed. "Yes, father."

"That is all," Adonis dismissed him with a hand. "You may go."

Alain found Alia waiting for him outside of the throne room. "He told you to pull back too?" she asked.

He nodded. "Alia, what's going on? Father never gets sick."

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "In any case, do what father says for now. I'll inform you of what to do later."

"Adel's not going to like this," Alain chuckled.

"You'd think so," she frowned. "But he took father being sick well. He was upset that he didn't get command, however."

"Indeed." Alain shot a quick glance at Takeru—as always, he was silent. "Well, I'm going to be off. I need to inform my units that are still stationed in Japan of our orders. Stay well." He gave a slight bow and turned away.

"Stay well," Alia greeted in kind. "And stay away from Igor. He's not the best influence."

"I'll try my best," Alain replied.

The two walked away in separate directions, focus in their eyes. The human world would be theirs—all for the Great Eye.

* * *

Though the Mysterious Phenomenon Institute didn't quite know it, the Ganma were true to their word. The assault had officially stopped, the spirits focusing their assaults elsewhere. This drew the attention of the other Riders, and they left to deal with the worldwide threat, teaming up with the local heroes wherever the Ganma popped up.

The weeks that passed were tense, the Riders constantly on the edge of their seat. They didn't like this sudden silence, especially after being beaten so easily. They practically jumped at every shadow and every hint of a paranormal occurrence.

It was on a Thursday that finally brought about change. Reimu and Makoto were sparring out in the yard, getting used to their lack of equipment, when Akari burst into the courtyard. "Reimu! Makoto!" she cried. "Come quickly! Sage is back!"

The two followed her down to the basement, where the monks had gathered. Sage and Yurusen were there as well.

"What's going on?" Reimu asked, towel over her shoulders. She and Makoto were wearing tanktops and sweatpants, and they both held bottles of water.

"It's time for you to get your weapons," Sage announced. Both Riders perked up at this. "Unfortunately, I was not able to procure them myself. However, I can lead you to where they are."

"Why not?" Onari asked.

"It's . . . complicated," Sage frowned.

"It'll be even more complicated if you don't say anything, old man," Reimu rolled her eyes. "Just spill."

The elderly man nodded. "All right. Reimu and Makoto, you two will need to go the Ganma's world to obtain your weapons. Something's preventing me from going where I want to go—the Royal Armory. You'll need to sneak your way through the palace to get to your destination."

"Wait, hold up," Reimu interrupted. "We're going _where?_ "

"The Ganma's world—the home of, well, the Ganma." It was Makoto who spoke up. "You know how I spent ten years there. It came to be like a second home to me."

"So we're finally taking the fight to their home front, huh?" Reimu nodded. "'Bout time."

"Actually, no." Sage said. "The enemies there are still far too strong. You wouldn't stand a chance in an all-out fight."

"Ugh, fine," she said.

"What's our job?" Akari asked.

"Akari, I want you to solve these for me," Sage handed the scientist a thick document. She took it hesitantly, perusing over the papers. "They're certain formulas that will be helpful in the future. Onari," he turned to the monk, "Fill in for Reimu for now. You should be able to handle any Ganma you find—I've seen you train."

As the Buddhist bowed and left, Reimu turned to the elderly man. "So when do we leave?"

"As soon as you're ready," came the answer.

She nodded. "Let me get ready then."

After a quick shower, she came back dressed in gray sweatpants and a red hoodie. She saw Makoto, now changed back into his blue leather jumpsuit, standing before the Monolith, which was ablaze with energy. Before it was a Ganma Hole, similar to the ones Alain had summoned.

She nodded to Makoto. "Ready?"

"Ready," came the reply.

"Where's Kanon?"

"Upstairs. She's helping out Narita and Shibuya around the temple." The blue Rider furrowed his brows. "Reimu. The Ganma world is unlike anything you've experienced. Be prepared."

"Yeah, got it," she said with surprising seriousness. "We're going in, getting the weapons, and getting out. No dallying, no rampages."

Sage appeared once more, handing the Riders a map. "This is the castle layout," he said. "You'll need this."

Reimu took it and gave it a one-over. "All right, let's go." She announced, and with a nod to Makoto, she dove into the Ganma Portal, closely followed by the elder Fukami.

Sage sighed as Yuyuko appeared. "You sure this is right?" the Princess of the Netherworld asked.

"I'm not," he admitted. "But this might be our only chance. To save Takeru—and to save the Ganma from themselves."


	10. Chapter 10: Perfect Utopia

**Chapter 10: Perfect Utopia**

The first thing Reimu noticed was the wind. There had been a biting gust blowing through the Monolith's portal, bringing with it a strange red dust that had sullied the basement's concrete floor. She wasn't expecting, however, the temperature to drop as a bitterly cold gale assaulted her senses. Closing her eyes, she shielded her face as she stepped onto what felt like a hard stone floor.

"Reimu, take a look," she heard Makoto say. She peeked through her hands, lowering them after she was certain sand wouldn't get into her eyes.

Red. That's the first word that came to mind as Reimu gazed out at the Ganma's world. What she could see of the sky was red, and it cast a red light all around. They were standing in a rocky amphitheater, worn away from the winds and sands. Behind them was a wall, featuring the glyphs and eye-shaped portal they had just come through. Up the sloping curves of the half-domed theater, rocky outcroppings provided them with some relief from the howling gales that whistled through the area. Reimu started to float up the steps to get a good luck, but sank back down almost immediately.

"Heavy," she said, panting a bit. "This place is weird."

"Very few things can fly in the world of the Ganma," Makoto replied, already hiking up the steps. "Eyecons and Gundari, as well as a few other indigenous beasts."

Reimu grumbled as she followed Makoto up the weathered stairs. When she got to the top, her eye drank deep of the scenery around her.

Before them was a vast tundra of sand. All around them the red sand rose and fell in crimson dunes, the wind howling over the land. A crimson sun blazed in the sky, covered partially by dark clouds. Off in the distance she could see cliffs rising above the desert, black islands among a sea of sand. To the right of the cliffs, so far away that she could barely see it, was a series of black pillars.

"That's the Ganma's capital," Makoto said. "Just beyond those cliffs. If we can hurry we can probably make it by nightfall."

Reimu spared a glance at her bottle at her hip. "We're going to need more water."

Makoto held up a large flask. "I believe I have enough. In any case, why do you need to drink when you're dead?"

"Sage was saying something about life energy keeping me from disappearing," Reimu remembered. "Life energy that I got from food and water. Either that or it's keeping me battle-ready. Well, I guess I'll last 'till wherever we get."

The trek through the sands was an arduous task. Like Makoto said, the sun was beginning to set as they reached a top of the hill, the black pillars having grown to the sky of skyscrapers. All around the city were buildings of varying size—a large, relatively modern city of black amidst the red-brown sands. Makoto pointed. "There's an inn in those quarters. We'll stop there for the night."

"So Ganma need to eat and sleep too, huh?" Reimu mused. "Must be a similar case to mine."

He nodded. "The Ganma are an odd species. They need to eat and drink and rest, but they're spirits at the same time. I wonder how that works."

The sun had ceased its vermillion light as they arrived within the city limits, the moon casting an eerie blue glow upon the nighttime landscape. After an entire day of walking, the tired Riders finally arrived at the inn. Reimu munched tiredly on some kind of biscuit as Makoto spoke at length with the innkeeper—it tasted strange, but not entirely unpleasant.

"What's in this?" she asked the elder Fukami as he returned.

"A biscuit made of some type of wheat that only grows here," Makoto said. "It's odd, but you'll get used to ghost food quickly."

"Huh," she said. "Got a room?"

"Yeah. Two beds, one night. Pretty cheap."

"Great. Let's get some rest then."

They left the common area and headed up to their rooms for a night of fitful rest, dreams plagued by red sand and white-armored figures. They woke to a dull orange light—Makoto informed her later that solar sandstorms were a frequent occurrence, blanketing the land in crimson. Normally the land was a dull orange. They had a quick breakfast consisting of the same biscuits as last night, in addition to a slice of green-colored meat that Makoto seemed to wolf down with relish. Reimu managed to choke hers down with little complaint. "I'm not going to ask what that was."

"It's an acquired taste," he chuckled.

They left the inn right after breakfast, checking out. Makoto, having lived here for ten years, knew his way around the city like the back of his hand. Reimu noted that he was greeted by Ganma, occasionally, as they grew closer to the castle. They passed by modern-esque buildings made of stone, the tall columns that made up the palace looming over them. Eventually, they came across a large road leading through the city. They followed the main road down for a mile or two until they came across an enormous gate. The doors stretched several stories high, solid stone doors inscribed with the symbol of the Great Eye. The massive wall stretched outwards to either side, continuing on as far as Reimu could see. At the front of the gate were by two soldiers in blue armor, mono-eyed helmets scanning the horizon for any intrusion—Ganma Superiors.

"Stay close and follow my lead," Makoto whispered to her. He straightened out confidently, holding his head high as he strode straight towards the guards. They crossed their weapons—polearms with dangerously spiked tips—as he approached. "Halt," one called out. "Who goes there?"

"Fukami Makoto, Strike Commander of the Invasion and friend of the Royal Family," he barked out, holding up his Eyecon. Reimu followed close behind, wondering what would happen next. "I must needs access the Palace—official orders from the Magistrate."

"Ah, sir Makoto." Their answer surprised Reimu. She knew he was a friend of the royal family, but this much authority? That was surprising. "Yes, of course. Lord Edith gave orders to let you and the trainee in." The guards uncrossed their spears and the one on the right spoke a phrase into his wrist. The massive stone slabs let out a low rumble, grating upon the ground as they slowly creaked opened. Makoto nodded, striding forward through the massive doors, Reimu following close behind.

They entered into a massive courtyard, acres and acres of land surrounded by the large wall. Their target lay in the center of the acres of gardens—a massive grey tower, reaching high into the sky. As their shoes crunched against the orange gravel of the dirt path leading to the palace entrance, Reimu turned to Makoto. "What was that all about?"

"Hm?" Makoto scanned the area, looking out for anyone suspicious in the large hedges that made up the castle gardens.

"We got in so . . . easily."

"Something Sage told me—he said that he had info that a high-ranking Ganma named Edith had orders for a few soldiers to obtain some valuable weapons for him, for whatever reason. We were to capitalize on that opportunity and slip in uncontested."

The shrine maiden nodded and fell in silently. They passed another set of guards, finally arriving at the large monolith that constituted as the palace proper. The large black building was easily at least several blocks wide and half as deep. At the very top of the building was the Ganma's eye crest, the symbol of Ganma royalty and all Ganmakind.

Reimu stared up at the massive building. "So how do we enter?"

Makoto held up his Eyecon. From the seamless black wall a light shone out, washing over the Specter Eyecon. After several seconds, the light died. With a low rumble, a section of the wall sank into the ground, revealing a person-sized rectangular opening. The hole shone with an ominous red light.

Makoto entered without hesitation, only pausing for Reimu to catch up. The pair cautiously made their way down the corridor, the stone slab sliding in place behind them. After several tense minutes of silent sneaking, the hall opened up into a large room.

It was sparse in design. The room was the size of a baseball diamond, with black walls surrounding the perimeter. In the middle of the room was a pedestal, fifteen foot radius, a variety of weapons resting upon it.

"These them?" Reimu muttered. Makoto nodded. "All right, let's go."

Together, Reimu and Makoto bundled up the weapons and made to leave. Makoto nodded. "I'll go first." As he exited the building, Reimu noticed a strange Eyecon out of the corner of her eye. It was a dull gray—and larger than any other of the strange artifacts she had ever seen. She touched it, curiously.

"Reimu?" Makoto peeked in. "It's clear."

She nodded, leaving the odd Eyecon and following Makoto. The two Riders once again snuck back through the black corridor, and out of the black monolith into the courtyard. They scarce made it five steps until they sensed a very familiar presence behind them.

Reimu slowly turned. Looming behind him, Ghost Driver burning to life upon his military-uniformed waist, was Dark Ghost.

She cursed. "Makoto! We got trouble!"

They summoned their Drivers and quickly transformed, backing away from the oncoming spirit. The weapons still tied about them, they decided the best course of action would be to run.

Reimu shot up into the air, taking Makoto by the hand. "Makoto! Shoot him, or something!"

Makoto nodded and switched to Newton. Launching a gravitational wave, he was able to slow Dark Ghost's advance. Reimu took the opportunity to shoot away, soaring through the dusty air with slight effort, leaving the motionless figure of Dark Ghost staring at them from below.

It wasn't long before they arrived back at the Ganma Hole where they had entered form. Nodding, the two Riders detransformed and returned to the world of the living, entering into a basement full of red sand and anxious faces.

"How did it go?" Akari asked. "You got everything?"

"Yeah," Makoto nodded, adjusting his burden. "We were able to get out all right. However, thanks to Take—Dark Ghost, we were spotted as we were leaving."

"That's not good," Akari muttered. "For now, let's just focus on what we can do—or, rather, what those weapons can. We'll start on that tomorrow."

True to her word, by the next morning Akari had set up her station in the temple courtyard. Computers whirring away, she probed each of the weapons that the Riders had brought back.

"Perfect timing," she said, as Reimu yawned in the temple entryway and Makoto arrived via the shrine steps. "You can start."

Reimu nodded. "Where's Sage?"

"Here~" the old man poofed into view. "Good job, you two. These weapons are imperative for your fight against the Ganma."

"Imperative, huh?" she muttered. Curious, she grabbed hold of a crimson sword. Its blade was red like fire, and in the center of its hilt was etched the Ganma's Eye. A quick scan revealed that all the weapons there had the same design as this. "So do these have names or something?"

"That's the Ganflame Longsword," Sage explained. "Before you ask, each of the other weapons has a similar naming scheme—the Ganflame Magnum, Ganflame Longbow, et cetera."

Reimu swung the Ganflame Longsword around a bit. It felt very similar to the Gangun Saber had—but better. "I like it," she grinned.

She spent the next few hours practicing the weapons with Makoto. The new weapons had a special property of emitting a spectral flame, similar to how the Sunglasslasher had. Sage also informed them that they could actually combine the Eyecons with the weapons—and indeed, Reimu had managed to enhance the Longsword with Musashi's and Goemon's power. She simply held the two Eyecons aloft, which then transfigured into two glyphs that absorbed into her weapon.

"Wow, this is handy," she nodded, extinguishing the blade's flame and returning the Eyecons to normal.

"And just in time, too," Akari muttered. The people present gathered around her as she stared at her laptop, open to a news article. "There's something going on downtown. Check it out, will you?"

Makoto and Reimu nodded and sped off. Quickly arriving to the scene of the crime—yet another abandoned quarry—they came face-to-face with Dark Ghost, surrounded by a small contingency of Ganma.

"Perfect," Reimu smiled grimly. "Time to test these out."

"Henshin!"

Once again the orange and blue Riders took stage, charging at the horde with their new weapons drawn. Reimu immediately summoned the Ganflame Katana in tandem with the Longsword, easily cutting through the spirits with her crimson blades. Makoto had taken to knocking them around with the Ganflame Scythe, wide arcs driving the spirits back.

All of a sudden, Dark Ghost was upon them, Gangun Axe brought to bear against Reimu's two blades. She grunted and pushed him back, retaliating with a flurry of cuts. Her efforts were to no avial, however, as her quarry quickly leapt backwards. He flipped his weapon around, revealing a gun barrel, before firing off several shots of his own. Reimu desummoned her blades and called forth the Ganflame Rifle. She returned fire, causing him to dive for cover behind a mound of gravel.

"Makoto!" she called out as he cleaned up the last of the troopers. "We have him! I think the weapons are working!"

"They'd better," he muttered. "All right, shall we hit him with our new Omega Drives?"

"Yeah," she said. Scanning her weapon, she took careful aim at his hiding place.

"Flame Shooting「Ghost Shotgun」!"

"Omega Fang!"

The shots blew apart the small hill that Dark Ghost was hiding behind, and he flew backwards from the force. Silent as ever, he rolled to a stop before getting up and scanning the Gangun Axe across his belt.

Reimu clenched her teeth. "Here it comes . . . !"

But even as Dark Ghost launched a wave of black energy at the Riders, Reimu thought she heard a familiar cry. The cry of a person who had not spoken in over a month.

The Riders rolled with the impact, their armor vanishing around them. Reimu struggled to rise as Dark Ghost, his motivations ever a mystery, vanished into a Ganma Hole.

"Makoto, did you hear that?" Reimu panted.

"Yeah," the Fukami brother responded. He looked at her, his expression grave.

"That was Takeru. Whatever happened back there was enough to cause a lick of his personality to come through."

Reimu stared up into the sky, frowning. Just what was up with Takeru? What exactly _were_ these weapons Sage had them get? What was going to happen into the future? And why did she feel that things were about to get a lot worse?

* * *

In the dark halls of the recently-raided Ganma Palace, a curious scene took place. His Imperal Majesty, Adonis, struggled for breath, rasping upon his royal bed. A thousand thoughts ran through his head, all which were broken as he heard footsteps echo throughout his private chambers.

"Such a sad sight," murmured a frighteningly familiar voice. "It pains me to see you like this, Father."

"Adel," the elderly Ganma hissed. "So it was _you._ "

"Figured it out?" the prince barked out a laugh. "So, you figured out that not only were you being poisoned, but that it was me who did it. Impressive."

"Why, Adel? Why?"

"Because, _dear father_ , you've been keeping _secrets_ from me." Adel sneered at the pale face of his sire. "Secrets to power . . . _unimaginable_."

"You . . .!" Eyes wide, Adonis struggled to rise, only to be racked by a coughing fit. "The Ganmeizers aren't a toy!"

"Of course not, father. They're a tool." A manic glint had entered the prince's eyes. "Tools to use to bend the world as I see fit—to bring all under the Great Eye. Isn't that what you always wanted?"

 _This can't be happening,_ Adonis' breaths were labored as he was firmly shoved back down. _Not when I just uncovered the Great Eye's secret._

"Well, father, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have places to go, powers to obtain," Adel said airily, "powers that require me to be king. So, _goodbye, dear father._ "

Adonis could only stare in numb shock as his Eyecon—the very container of his soul—was immolated in blue flame. He couldn't even scream as the life was torn from him by his very own flesh and blood. After what felt like an eternity, his breath escaped his list, and he breathed his last.

The room was silent for several tense moments. Then the shocked quiet was broken by Adel's peals of laughter, echoing throughout the private chamber. "Oh, Adel, compose yourself," he chided himself. "You have a reputation to uphold, do you not?"

His face suddenly went blank, the grin dissolving into unnatural stoicism. Then his features etched into that of a distraught son, devastated at just learning of his father's passing.

"Help! Father—father's dead!" He wailed, blowing open the doors and streaking down the hall. "The king is dead! The king is dead!"

 _And long live the king._


	11. Chapter 11: Rage and Pain

**Chapter 11: Rage and Pain**

Standing on the roof of a tall glass building, Alain surveyed the scene before him: a city street, crowded with humans, and surrounded by tall buildings, which were almost as tall—if not taller-than the Black Pillars back home. He breathed in, savoring the sights and smells of the human world. He always loved how the land of the living stimulated his senses. That was one luxury not offered back home, unfortunately. When the Ganma took over, he mused, he'd be sure to do something about the lack of smell the world of the Ganma had to offer.

"My lord," a Ganma Superior knelt. "Our troops are in position."

"Good," he nodded. "Move out on my command."

The ghostly commander bowed and left to attend his unit. Alain rose and leapt off of the ten-story-tall building, landing on a slightly smaller building. He leapt from rooftop to rooftop, only stopping when an unfamiliar voice caught his attention.

"Say, you wouldn't happen to be with Foundation X, would you?" the decidedly English-speaking voice called out. He turned, coming face-to-face with a white man of average stature, clad in a black polo and blue jeans. His dark hair was slicked back and his green eyes betrayed a steely glint. "Odd getup, weird device on your arm, armored subordinates. You lookin' for Animecon or something?"

"You can see me?" Alain frowned. "I thought we were supposed to be invisible to humans, yet I run into your type with surprising frequency."

The human shrugged. "Dunno 'bout that. It doesn't seem like you're with Foundation X, though." The steely glint returned. "Then you must be the ghosts Mr. Terui was talking about. What brings you to beautiful Los Angeles?"

"None of your concern, human," Alain dismissed. "Stand in our way, and you'll be trodden underfoot."

"Got it," he said dryly. "So, I take it you're _not_ here to sightsee." From his pocket, he pulled out an odd-looking USB. Producing a toylike pistol from behind his back, he pressed a button on the stick, causing a "Rocket!" to resound from the device, before jamming it into the handle of the gun.

"Memory Change!" he commanded, pulling the trigger. With a burst of light, he had transformed into a figure wearing blue armor and a black undersuit. "Rocket Gunner!"

"I did not expect to find a Kamen Rider here," Alain muttered, having transformed into Necrom right after the human pulled the trigger.

"I'm not a Rider per say, but I do work with them," came the reply. The helmeted non-Rider aimed his gun. "So, you gonna come quietly?"

A punch from Necrom was all that he got. The human responded by firing off shots as he rolled, causing Necrom to stumble a bit. Rocket Gunner followed up with a series of shots, with Necrom diving out of the way. Necrom returned fire with his Gangun Rod, smirking as he saw his target stumble a bit. Growling, Rocket Gunner rushed forward with a punch, as Necrom copied his action. Their fists collided, splitting the air with a loud crack.

* * *

"So where are we going, exactly?" Marisa yawned. She, Haruto, Shotaro and Phillip were all crammed into a rented BMW, Shotaro speeding down the Autobahn at 100 miles an hour. They had arrived in Berlin several days ago, taking a few days to get used to the local customs to blend in better—at least, that's what Shotaro called it. To Marisa, it just felt like sightseeing. Not she was complaining.

"We're checking out a castle in the German countryside," Haruto turned around from the shotgun seat, holding out a map. "We're going here to check for any evidence of link to the Ganma and the Kingdom of the Great Eye."

"So we're actually starting our search, then?"

"We've been searching," Shotaro responded, narrowly avoiding smashing into another vehicle. "Unless you don't want to go to that bratwurst place again."

Marisa shut up.

After another few hours of driving, they finally arrived at their destination—a remote castle in the mountains, overlooking a lake. Shotaro parked the car and the four got out, making their way inside the abandoned stronghold.

"Nice place," Marisa said appreciatively, looking about.

Shotaro coughed. "Dusty, though."

They spread out, examining the ancient building for any sign related to the ghostly invaders. They overturned tables, looked behind moth-eaten curtains, overturned loose stone. They practically turned the whole place inside-out in their search for that elusive symbol.

It was Phillip that broke the silence. "Shotaro, Haruto. Marisa. Over here."

The others quickly made their way to where the younger man was. A loose stone in the flooring had been taken out, revealing a stone with the symbol of the Ganma on it.

"Well done, partner," Shotaro praised. "So . . . what now?"

Phillip pressed the stone, and they heard a click. Behind them a wall slowly ground open, shaking dust off of its centuries of rest.

"Well, shall we check this out?" Phillip asked the present company, and descended into darkness.

* * *

"It's the weapons, I tell you," Reimu repeated for the fourth time in an hour. "We can save Takeru. I know it!"

"Reimu, calm down. You're pacing."

"No I'm not," Reimu replied automatically, stopping her pacing. "But don't you see? We can save him!"

Makoto sighed. "I _know_ that, Reimu. But there's nothing we can do right now. Just take a deep breath."

After a few seconds, Reimu blinked. "Huh. That was weird of me."

"Yeah, it was," Makoto responded dryly. "Apologize to me for showing me a sight I never wish to see again—a talkative Reimu."

The shrine maiden rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

A moment of silence. "Well, what now?"

"Work, probably," Makoto answered. "We wait for Onari to burst into the room and say that there's a case."

Onari burst into the room. "Guys! There's a case!"

"See?" Makoto chuckled at Reimu's grumbling.

A host of Ganma were milling about the shopping district, generally causing havoc by breaking windows, smashing cars, and overturning flower decorations. Needless to say that the public populace wasn't quite appreciative of this unseen menace, and they ran about like chickens with their heads cut off.

Reimu dove into the chaos, firing away with her guns, as Makoto smashed into them with his bike.

"C'mon, where's the leader?" she muttered, exchanging her guns for her longsword. She cut great flaming swaths through the crowd, and in a matter of moments the crowd dissipated into black mist.

Sure enough, a portal opened up in the middle of the air, and out stepped Dark Ghost, already transformed.

"Here he comes!" Reimu muttered. Makoto nodded.

Dark Ghost came out swinging, launching dark blades of energy from his axe. The two dodged, and Reimu grabbed Makoto, flying up to the roof of a building.

Dark Ghost came hurtling after them a moment later, axe raised high. Reimu summoned the Ganflame Longbow and fired a shot into him, the spiritual arrow slicing into him.

"This is our chance!" she shouted. "Makoto!"

"Right!" Makoto quickly switched into Houdini and bound Dark Ghost with his chains. Reimu summoned her Longsword again, and, calling Musashi and Goemon, imbued the blade with their power as she scanned it across the Energy Eye Crest.

"Omega Slash: Eastern Night Crossing!"

Imbued with Musashi's bladework and Goemon's speed, the blade flashed through Dark Ghost's midsection. Like before, his stoic mask shattered, and they heard a roar of pain. They got clear, and watched as he fell to the floor, detransformed.

Reimu made to help him up, but Makoto held out a hand. "Careful," he warned. "We don't know if that worked."

She nodded and they waited. Seconds passed, as the Riders remained on-edge for any sign of movement. Reimu lowered her sword.

"You know, wouldn't it hurt to check—"

"URAGH!"

Reimu jumped as Dark Ghost struggled against his bindings, writing around like a dying fish. He looked up, and Reimu froze as she saw an expression of pure hatred upon Takeru's normally docile face. Dark Ghost roared and thrashed, and eventually the binds containing him fractured from their repeated abuse. That was enough, and he shattered his bonds, diving away into a Ganma Eye Crest.

"You saw that, right?" Makoto said as his transformation fell. Reimu nodded, still shocked.

"I . . . I've never seen Takeru like that before," she said, sobered. "I wasn't even sure he was making faces that intense."

"Neither was I," Makoto admitted. "C'mon, detransform and let's head back."

The evening was a heavy one, and the Institute discussed their options.

"You're certain he showed anger," Akari said.

"Yeah," Makoto nodded. "A lot."

Reimu sighed. "It's unfortunate, but all we can do for now is hit him harder and harder and see if anything happens."

Akari looked down. "I'm sorry, Takeru."

"We all are," Makoto assured her. "But we'll save him no matter what the cost. From himself if we have to."

As Makoto and Akari came up with a plan to ensure their next encounter would end in their favor, Reimu retreated to the roof, floating through the rafters to bask in the cool night air.

"What would you guys do?" she muttered, looking at the Eyecons for an answer—any answer. "I don't know your history—your tales. What would you do in my shoes?"

Suddenly something flashed around Reimu, and she found herself standing in a Japanese-style room. She blinked, and before stood several people—a Japanese man in a traditional outfit, a young American man in a brown vest, and an Englishman in a brown tunic with a green cap upon his head.

"Reimu, we've been watching you all this time," the Japanese man said.

Reimu frowned. She was sure she had heard that voice before. " . . . Musashi?"

"Correct," he nodded.

"And Billy the Kid, and Robin Hood," Reimu guessed.

"I'm impressed," Robin Hood said in surprisingly good Japanese. "You don't know anything about us, but you managed to differentiate us anyways."

"That's because Billy is brown, and Robin is green," she said matter-of-factly. The three laughed. " . . . But I think I changed that part."

"Pardon?"

"I didn't care about who you guys were and what you did. I'll be honest—I still don't really care," she admitted. "But if it can help me figure out what to do in the future, I'll gladly put the work into it."

"And we know how much you hate that," Billy deadpanned.

"Hey!"

Musashi nodded. "Reimu, all this time, Takeru has been reaching out to us, trying to understand us. He's looked to our lives for inspiration in order to, in his words, make his 'life burn bright.' To be prepared for what lies ahead, you'll need the help of all the Heroic Spirits." He smiled. "But for now, you'll at least have our help."

The room went white, and Reimu found herself standing atop the roof of the shrine. "Well, how about that?" she smiled.

She floated down through the roof and into the basement. Picking up Takeru's book, she began to read.

* * *

A new day dawned. Reimu was asleep, her head in one of Takeru's history books, when the call for help came.

"Master Makoto! Miss Reimu! A paranormal incident!"

Downtown once again, the same shopping district. The place hadn't even started to clean up, yet Dark Ghost was there, firing away with his axe-gun, roaring at the top of his lungs.

"We really did a number, huh?" Reimu muttered, flying alongside Makoto.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Ready?"

"Ready!"

"Henshin!"

The Riders crashed into Dark Ghost, dragging him away from the square and into a back alley. The close quarters gave them the advantage, as they fired away at him preventing him from swinging wildly.

Dark Ghost screamed, and fired a shockwave at the ground. When the dust settled, they saw him bounding away, leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

"Oh no you don't!" Reimu cried, switching to Boost as she flew after him. Makoto followed along in Houdini, mechanical jetpack abuzz. They traveled for a fair distance that way, with Reimu eventually shooting Dark Ghost down into a park.

They landed, keeping their distance. "Remember the plan," Makoto said. She nodded.

"Newton! Omega Drive: Pressure of Responsibility!"

"Tutankhamun! Omega Fang!"

Immediately, the two Riders trapped Dark Ghost in a heavy-gravity pyramid. He stood, paralyzed, only able to scream.

"Let's go!"

The Riders changed to Musashi and Goemon, assaulting their foe with a brutal series of slashes. Then they switched to Robin Hood and Edison, unleashing their projectile barrage. They kept up this merciless assault until Dark Ghost's cries of rage were at a fever pitch.

"Now, Reimu!" Makoto said.

"Takeru!" She grit her teeth. "I'm sorry!"

Boost's flames clad her once more, and she lifted the longsword. With a single thrust, she rammed the blade into through his body.

Dark Ghost's screams turned from enraged to pained. His shriek shattered the Omega Fang and blew away the gravity barrier, as he clawed at the blade sticking through his chest. He flailed wildly for a few seconds, before going still.

"Is it over?" Makoto whispered.

Reimu dared not let go of the sword. She dared to look at the defeated form of Dark Ghost, his broken body impaled upon her saber.

"He shouldn't die," she said aloud—mostly to herself. "I can't die. Ghosts can't die. He should still be fine. Fine—"

A terrible wail shook the park as Dark Ghost suddenly arched his back and screeched. They pressed their hands to their helmet out of reflex, Reimu accidentally letting go of the sword.

"That's not a screech of rage," Makoto realized through gritted teeth. "It's fear! Reimu, that sword is the key!"

"Each time he's been downed by it," she realized with a start, "An emotion was unlocked. The gun's flame helped, but it wasn't enough!"

As Dark Ghost flailed about, Reimu crawled, the sheer pressure of his vocalizations causing a tremendous pressure. She yelled back in defiance, each step a painful jolt up her spine. Finally she was within reach—and as soon as she grabbed the sword's hilt with both hands, the blade's flame flared up, and Dark Ghost's scream became nigh unbearable. She felt herself sliding backwards, losing to Takeru's rage and pain, but she couldn't lose, she _couldn't_ —

—Then Makoto was there, bracing her, and pumping the lever on her Driver, more times than she could count.

"Omega Overdrive!" it screamed towards the heavens. The sword glowed white, and a raging inferno surrounded them all, and Reimu knew no more.

* * *

When she came to, she was face-down in the same area. She was still transformed—but her armor was missing in several places, and her mask was halfway on, her helmet having been partial burned away.

Groggily, she sat up. Her whole everything hurt-though the land around her had much worse, the lush park having been burned away to a blackened ash.

 _Good thing this was empty_ , she dryly muttered. She checked around her—Makoto was in a similar state, starting to rise himself, and Dark Ghost—

 _Takeru!_

She hobbled over, worry tightening her throat. "Hey! Takeru!" she cried out. Makoto had now managed to get to his feet, and she shook her friend by his shoulders. "Takeru!"

No response. She shook him harder and harder. "Takeru!"

"Reimu . . ." Makoto finally made it here.

Reimu felt something twist inside her, and before she knew it, hot tears were welling up in her eyes. "Huh?" she wiped her eyes and stared. "I'm—I'm crying?"

Makoto just closed his eyes in sadness, tears streaming down his own face, as she sobbed.

"I'm so sorry, Takeru," she whispered. _So, this is what true sadness is, then_ , a perversely stoic part of her mind observed.

Makoto turned away as Reimu continued to hold Takeru. They stayed that way several minutes, until . . .

A beat.

"Takeru!" Reimu nearly dropped him in shock as the Ghost Hunter stirred slightly. Makoto knelt, worry evident on his face, not even bothering to hide the fat tears that streamed out of his eyes.

"Mmh," he groaned. "R . . .eimu? Mako . . . to?"

"Yes," she whispered, "It's us."

"What are you all so worried about?" he chuckled weakly. "I'm a ghost, remember?"

"Oh, shut up," Makoto said gratefully.

Reimu could barely believe it. The sword had worked—the spell was broken. Takeru was back to his seemingly normal self. Things were going to be all right.

"Let's get you home," she said, and, Takeru propped up on their shoulders, Reimu and Makoto began the journey back to the temple—the first time home would be home in a long time.

* * *

Necrom and Rocket Gunner's clash took them all across Los Angeles. The two were currently fighting atop a ridiculously tall building—one that Necrom would later learn would be called a skyscraper. The Prince of the Ganma was surprised to find such a formidable foe here, where the influence of the Riders was _supposed_ to be small.

"Osha!" Rocket Gunner grunted as hopped over one of Necrom's green hand-blasts. "Buddy, I can do this all day."

"So can I," Necrom said dryly. "Mortal filth like you, however, will tire eventually. I just need to fight until then."

"You're not looking too sharp yourself," Rocket Gunner grinned behind his mask. He fired a few more shots before ducking behind a air-conditioning vent.

"Your stale tricks will run out eventually," Necrom said, slotting the Grimm Brothers into his Mega Uloader. A Ghost Change later and the Grimms' fighting pens were at his disposal. "Come out!"

Rocket Gunner yelped as the flexible appendages snaked around and jabbed at him from every which way. "Fine," he muttered. "Want me to come out? I can come out." He ejected the Gaia Memory out from his gun's grip and jammed it in the back.

"Maximum Drive!" A mechanical voice echoed.

"What?"

Rocket Gunner stood up, magnum aimed straight at Necrom's chest. "Rocket Assault!"

From the gun's tip a barrage of missiles created from Gaia Memory energy flew towards Necrom. Necrom's pens proved to be a valuable defense, but one got through, knocking the Ganma back. He prepared ready to end this mortal's life with an Omega Drive, when a Ganma aide materialized next to him.

"What is it?" he said cooly.

"Lord Alain," the aide spoke. "Your presence back home is needed."

"For what reason? Anything my brother wants he can come to me," he said. "I'm in the middle of something."

Rocket Gunner, for his part, took the opportunity to duck out of harm's way and find some cover. The magnum would be on cooldown for right now—better play it safe.

"It's the king, my lord," the Ganma hesitated. "Your father."

"What about him?" Alain suddenly felt a chill go down his spine.

"He's . . . dead."

Alain stopped, color fading from his cheeks behind the Pantheon. "I—I see," he swallowed. He nodded. "I will be on my way."

A Ganma Eye Crest opened. Alain stood, untransformed, and made to step in.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Rocket Gunner shouted. "You can't just run!"

"You're not worth my time right now," Alain replied. "But if you so desire, I will return to kill you after I deal with . . . home."

He stepped into the portal, and vanished from sight. A moment passed, and Rocket Gunner's transformation fell.

"Oh man," he muttered. "Shotaro's not gonna like this."


	12. Chapter 12: Long Live the King

**Chapter 12: The Fall and Rise of a King**

Emperor Adonis' funeral was a grand affair, the entirety of the Ganma Kingdom mourning their beloved leader's passage. His body was wrapped in the country standard—a red flag with the Great Eye in green—and buried in the royal gravesite, as his forefathers had been. Throughout all of this, Alain was in a constant state of numbness. Not only had he just lost his father, but his general, and trusted leader. Adding insult to injury were the recent reports that Dark Ghost had since been downed in battle.

Once the funeral procession was over, Alain retreated to the castle, preferring to be kept out of sight of public eye. The invasion was officially on hold—the Emperor's death had hit the troops' morale hard. His thoughts and emotions swirling inside, he sat in his office, perusing over strategies and maps, trying to distract himself from his current situation.

A knock came from the door. "Come in," he said, turning to see his sister enter.

"Alain, how are you holding up?" the princess of the Ganma asked.

"Just fine," he said automatically.

"Liar," Alia gently accused. "You never go over maps."

He sighed, defeated. "It's just—father's really gone? Like a mortal?"

"He is," she said softly. "Not even we live forever, Alain. You know this."

"Yeah," he muttered. "But—but even still."

She sat down next to him, placing her hand on his. " . . . Tell me, Alain. What do you _really_ think about the war?"

"It's good for the crown and homeland," he said automatically. Upon her _look_ , he withered. " . . . I don't know. We could use the room, and I certainly won't mind a blessing from the Great Eye, but it just feels like we're fighting to fight. First the conquest of the Outer Lands, and now this?"

"I understand," she nodded. "It's odd. But we may not have to fight anymore. We should be grateful for this."

"I guess," he hesitated. "But I still have unfinished business with _them_."

"Finish it or not, I don't care," she waved her hand. Alain could see the bags under her eyes. "Just don't get yourself killed, all right?"

"Don't worry," he smiled the tiniest bit. "I don't intend to die. I'm immortal, remember?"

Alia gave him a peck on the forehead before dismissing herself. It would be another few hours before the tumult in his mind allowed him to rest, however.

The next day, Alain found his sister, along with his combat instructor, Gyro, in the war room. They were quietly discussing something when he entered.

"Morning," he greeted curtly. "What were you two discussing?"

"Who will be crowned next in line, actually," Gyro said. He was an older man, having served many years in the Ganma's military, but his age didn't stop him any. "Alia is the most logical choice, as she is both the oldest and the most experienced in combat out of the three of you."

Alain nodded. "If I had my choice, I wouldn't care for being king anyways. Politics is not my forte."

"We know," Alia said dryly. "But really, it's all for the Great Eye to choose."

Suddenly, a messenger burst into the room. "My lady! My lord!" he cried, kneeling. "The Great Eye is active!"

"What? Already?" Alia stood. "Alain, come."

"Right."

The royalty quickly hurried to the Great Hall, where the throne was seated. Above, the symbol of the Great Eye shone in a myriad of colors. Adel was already present.

"You're late," he said, and Alain swore he heard smugness in his voice.

"Adel, why is it starting now?" Alia demanded. "Did you do something?"

"Of course not, dear sister," he held up his hands. "It just started and I sent a messenger to fetch you all."

Something was definitely off—Alain knew his brother would never play fair like this. It was tradition that each candidate for the throne had to be present when the selection occurred—and Adel would take the opportunity to be the only one present, if he had the chance. Such thoughts would have to wait, for the Great Eye shone a beam of light down into the room. It passed over each of the royal siblings in turn, before blinking out. Nothing happened for a moment.

Then Adel's Eyecon began to glow.

They stared, transfixed, as it hovered in the air for a split second before the glow died down. It had turned a golden color, its iris a pale blue.

"What?!" Alain seethed. "Adel, what is the meaning of this?" Alia said nothing, just frowned.

Adel smiled. It wasn't a warm one. "Well, that settles that," he proclaimed.

"Adel, answer me!" Alain strode up to him and spun him around. "What did you do?!"

Adel gingerly pried Alain's hand off of his shoulder. "Come, brother, the Eye has chosen," he said in a tone that Alain could have sworn was mocking. "Base jealousy does not suit you."

Alain glared as Alia regarded him coldly.

Adel smirked as he took his seat upon the throne. "My first order as king," he decreed, "will be to redouble our war effort against the mortals."

"You're sure?" Gyro asked.

Adel looked down upon him. "Yes, I am sure. We are to begin immediately. Alain, continue your campaign in Japan. Alia, you will go to Europe. Somebody is snooping around in places they shouldn't be."

Alain and Alia bowed, taking their leave.

"Alain, wait," Adel called out. As his brother turned around, he spoke. "Word has it that weapons have been stolen from the vault—weapons _your_ troops were guarding." His eyes narrowed. "Take care of it. And don't fail."

Alain grit his teeth. "Yes, my lord."

"Good. Dismissed."

Alain found his sister in the hallway, making preparations for their immediate mobilization. "Sister. This feels . . . wrong."

She nodded. "I have my suspicions about what part Adel himself played in this bizarre matter, but for now we can do nothing. Let us depart."

Alain nodded, already walking away. His troops were waiting for their commander, after all.

* * *

"How is he?" Makoto asked. He had been coming over a lot lately—to check up on Takeru, sure, but also due to the fact that paranormal activity had been increasing again.

"Still asleep," Akari said without looking up from her laptop. "He hasn't woken up since you brought him back."

The elder Fukami sighed. "If only there were a doctor we could go to for ghost comas." He pulled up a chair, sitting at the table.

Many changes had happened as of late. The basement had converted to a "command center" of sorts, several monitors hooked up to some of Akari's computers. Sage, in an odd gesture of charitability, had supplied them with miniature sensors that they placed throughout the city in an effort to quit relying on word-of-mouth cases—they could go directly to the source. Onari was hesitant to take this step, as it meant that they'd get fewer and fewer cases, but they figured the drastic times called for drastic measured.

Reimu plopped herself down in a chair. "Ugh, it's such a pain," she grumbled.

"Luminaries coming along well?" Akari asked.

"Ugh," she groaned. "They're so _stubborn_. Nobody wants to tell me anything." She glared at the Beethoven Eyecon. "Hurry up and connect with me already!"

"I'm sure that's going to make them work," Makoto said dryly.

Onari burst into the room. "Paranormal activity! And it's a big one!"

Makoto nodded to Reimu. "Let's go!"

"Right!"

The source of the ghostly disturbance was at the abandoned quarry—a place that, for some reason, Reimu found herself coming back to time and time again. Yurusen had said something about it being easy to connect to the Ganma's World from there or something, but Reimu hadn't quite been paying attention. Indeed, Reimu and Makoto soon found themselves staring down an entire battalion of Ganma.

Quickly donning Boost's red flames, she lashed out with her Ghostflame Katana in one hand and her Ghostflame Shotgun in the other. Makoto charged in with Houdini's chains, the Ghostflame Scythe connected at the end of one of the spectral links.

An impact nearly knocked them over. Turning, the Riders found themselves face-to-face with Necrom, who had descended onto the battlefield once more.

"Alain," Makoto growled. "You've gone too far!" Reimu aimed her shotgun.

Necrom said nothing, opting to simply throw green spheres of spectral fire at Makoto and Reimu. They dodged out of the way, and begun their assault. Reimu stayed out of the way, firing with her shotgun, while Makoto got up close and personal. At first, the results were the same as last time—they didn't seem to be able to land a hit upon Necrom at all.

Then Reimu shot him in the face with her shotgun.

Fully expecting the burning bullets to go right through him, she stared in stunned shock as he staggered back, clutching his face in pain.

"Makoto!" she called out.

"Right!" he roared out a battle cry as he charged Necrom, rage filling his veins. He swung his Ganflame Rifle, smashing the barrel of the gun across Necrom's head. He continued his assault, beating the white Rider over the head with his weapon, each blow punctuated by angry cries.

With a cry, Makoto raised his rifle over his head and swung downwards. Necrom lashed out a hand, stopping the weapon's progress. "Too slow," he sneered. Necrom planted his foot in Makoto's stomach, sending the Rider stumbling back, the rifle torn from his grip. Necrom whirled in around and fired a few rounds at Reimu before she could fire off her own shot.

Reimu rolled, switching to Himiko as she did. Himiko wasn't her favorite—Reimu got the feeling that the princess didn't quite like her—but her ability was useful now. She stuck out her open palm, and a pink mist spread outwards, absorbing the oncoming shots. Twisting her hand, she sent the mist swirling around Makoto and herself, wrapping themselves in an ethereal blanket.

Necrom fired twice more, then threw the weapon at Reimu. She dodged, the rifle sailing over her head as Makoto desummoned it. She swapped to the Ganflame Bow as Makoto brought out the Scythe, ghostly flames dancing along its edge.

The three clashed, neither side advancing nor retreating. Though Necrom was now able to be damaged at a constant rate, he was still plenty tough, as his emotionlessly precise combat style prevented them from getting any cheap shots in. Reimu tended to stay back, firing away with the Ganflame Shotgun as she strafed him, and slashing with the Longsword if the white Rider got too close. Makoto swung the Scythe like a berserker of old, wide, flaming arcs carving burning swaths through the air. Their opposition pushed back as well: Necrom's bag of tricks may have lost their edge, but certainly none of their usefulness. His liquid state proved to great effect against Reimu's ranged attacks, and Makoto's slashes would often find their way barred by his defenses. This stalemate went on for several minutes, the surrounding terrain becoming scorched by spectral fire.

The two Riders found themselves crouched behind a massive hill of gravel, shots whizzing over their heads. Necrom had fallen back after a particularly nasty blow and had ordered his Ganma Assaults and Commandos to pin them down.

"What now?" Makoto muttered as he readied his Rifle. His rage had worn off, and he was panting heavily.

Reimu cocked her Ganflame Shotgun. "I don't suppose you have anything capable of shielding us?"

He shook his head. "The only barrier creation we have is Himikio's mist. That'll do no good here—the amount of shots'll completely blow it away. Benkei is tanky, but lacks shielding."

Reimu tched. "Well, I can't die. So I'll draw their fire while you hit them with a Nobunaga Drive."

"Too risky," Makoto shook his head. "We can't risk it. You may be unkillable, but I'm not. Once you've been shot down I'm easy pickings."

"Then maybe let me help," a weak voice suggested.

The two Riders spun, and before them stood Takeru, looking like he had just been dragged through the dirt—but awake.

"Takeru!" Reimu exclaimed. "You shouldn't be here!"

"Get some rest," Makoto told him. "What are you doing?"

He coughed, smiling weakly. "I'm fine. I'm a ghost like you, Reimu—I can't die."

"Even so," she began.

"I'm not leaving. I heard you say you need help," he nodded. His Driver had already burned into life with a burst of black flame. "Henshin!"

Reimu scratched her head in irritation as Dark Ghost's black-and-white armor formed around Takeru. "Argh, fine! It's not my fault if you get worse!"

Takeru brought out a blue Eyecon with a gold center. "What's that?" Makoto asked, surprised.

"It's not one of the fifteen," Reimu observed.

Takeru slammed it into his Driver and cranked the lever. "Eyes open!" the Driver cheerfully announced. "Napoleon!" A blue Parka Ghost with a red cape cloaked itself over Takeru's shoulders. "Begin the revolution! It is destiny!"

"Napoleon, the Emperor of France!" Takeru declared. "Victor of decisive victories in the French Revolution!"

"Uh, okay?" Reimu tilted her head.

"And, as a leader-type," Takeru pumped the lever in his Driver, "He can protect!"

"Napoleon! Omega Drive!"

Takeru leapt up to the top of the gravel hill and raised his hands. Around him arose a barrier, which absorbed the bullets that whizzed by overhead.

"Go!" Takeru cried, and Makoto and Reimu were up there in the barrier with him, unleashing their fury upon the army. Makoto's Nobunaga rained rifle shot upon the ghosts, and Reimu laughed with a trace of madness as she spun around, firing away with Billy the Kid's shotgun-and-revolver combo.

Takeru slowly advanced, keeping the barrier up as Makoto and Reimu advanced. Necrom fired back with his own Gangun Catcher, but the shots simply dissipated. Soon enough the horde had fallen, leaving only the four Riders.

"So, Dark Ghost," Necrom growled with something akin to pain in his voice, "you have betrayed me as well?"

"Necrom," Takeru responded with fire in his voice. "You killed me and used me. You're going to pay for that!" The barrier dropped, and he charged forward, Gangun Axe brought to bear.

The axe, predictably, phased right through him, but Takeru wasn't done. He spun past him with the momentum, leaving him open to a barrage from Makoto and Reimu. As Necrom reeled from the shock, Takeru slashed the axe across the white Rider's back. The color began to drain from Necrom's suit.

"We're getting there!" Reimu's eyes widened. "He's almost down!"

Takeru scanned his axe, charging it with Omega Drive power. "Napoleon! Omega Crash!" With a cry, he swung his axe downwards thrice, slashing him with blue, then white, and then finally red flame. Necrom cried out as his transformation, for the first time since the Necrom Eyecon's activation, the Necrom suit shattered, and Alain collapsed to the ground, his uniform shredded.

The three Riders surrounded him, weapons leveled. Reimu caught a glimpse of the Ganma Prince's face—bags were under his eyes, his face was pale, and he looked even more gaunt than usual. Reimu felt a slight pang of pity for him.

"Alain," Makoto said, his gun lowering slightly. "What's your plan?"

Alain snarled. "What's it too you, human? Finish me off already."

Reimu raised her gun, but Makoto held out a hand. "What's going on, Alain? Why'd you stop? And why come back now?"

"Don't ask me," came the surprising reply. "The king wills it."

Makoto paused. "Lord Adonis? But he—"

"He's dead," Alain snapped. "Adel sits on the throne. You'd better watch out, human—he never liked you."

Makoto was stunned. "Adonis is dead?" he whispered. "I—"

"Watch out!" Reimu tackled Makoto.

Behind them, a Ganma Hole had sprung to life. Alain grabbed his fallen Gangun Catcher, blocked an attack from Takeru, and dove inside. It blinked out of existence before Makoto even stood up.

Reimu cancelled her transformation, fuming. "We almost had him!"

Takeru sighed, and then winced. "Ow. Does transforming usually hurt this much?"

"You must've pulled something. That's why I told you to take it easy."

Makoto just stared at the ground. "Hey, you okay?" Reimu asked.

" . . . Yeah," he said. "It's just . . . ."

Reimu was silent for a second. "Well, let's get Takeru back and patched up first. He's going to be hurting far more than he knows."

* * *

Reimu was spot-on the money, for by the time they got back, Takeru was a mess of aching limbs and queasy insides.

"Ugh," he moaned as he laid down with a cold towel upon his head. "Owwwww."

"Told you," Akari sniffed unsympathetically. "But you ignored me and went."

"Sorry," he winced. "Ow."

"So, you wanna tell us what's going on?" Reimu asked Makoto as he sat down at the table.

Makoto sighed. "Saw right through me, huh?"

"You were being super obvious, dude."

"Got me there." He leaned forward. "The Emperor Adonis was a kind man. He gave my sister and I a home—a light in the dark times we were in. Sure, the invasion against humanity was a tad weird, but you haven't seen the state the people were in. They need whatever resources they can get."

"Things didn't look that bad when we were there," Reimu frowned.

"That was the Capital—of course things looked fine. You haven't seen the other cities or the Outer Lands." Makoto sighed. "And then there's Adel."

"Yeah, you mentioned him," Reimu recalled. "Who is he?"

"Alain's brother. Though he doesn't seem like it, Alain was once a nice guy—though he doesn't understand exactly how mortals work," Makoto replied. "But Adel was pure ambition. He's even tried to kill me a few times. If _he's_ on the throne, I fear the road ahead might be far harder than we thought."

"So he's bad news," Reimu repeated.

"Oh yeah," Makoto nodded. Takeru made his agreement known by groaning in pain.

An uncomfortable silence fell. The minutes passed as the assembled cast mused the situation internally. Eventually, Reimu scratched her head and sighed. "I'm heading off for the day," she announced. "I'm tired. See you all tomorrow." With that, the shrine maiden left. It didn't take long for the rest to slowly trickle out, heading off to get their own rest.

That rest would be cut short, as next morning a massive explosion echoed throughout the mountains. Reimu shot up, panicked as she stumbled through the shrine walls, rubbing sleep from her tired eyes. "Whazzgoinon?" she mumbled blearily to a frightened Takeru, who was wincing both from the sudden movement and sleeping in the dining room all night.

"Bad news!" Akari, the earliest riser, was already scrolling through her phone at a breakneck pace. "A massive explosion in the middle of Shibuya occurred not two minutes ago. Some are saying it's a terrorist attack, but after what Alain said yesterday . . . ." she held out her phone.

Reimu glared at the screen. "You're right. Ganma," she confirmed with a shake of her head. "Where's Makoto?"

"Here," the elder Fukami replied, his dark blue sweats and white t-shirt a testament to how fast he arrived. "Ganma?"

"Yep." She nodded at Makoto, who returned the motion. "Let's go."

"I'm going to!" Takeru said even as he struggled to stand.

"No you're not," Akari snapped. "You're still injured."

"I'm _fine_ ," he insisted. "I can still fight!"

"No, you're staying here!"

Reimu ran her hands through her hair. "Ugh, fine! Just c'mon!" She grabbed Takeru's wrist, making him wince as she pulled him out the door to where Makoto was waiting on his bike.

"Reimu!" Akari chased after them. "He's not fully recovered!"

"I know!" she said, frustrated, as Makoto started the engine. Takeru sat right behind his friend, slipping on a bike helmet. "But I just have a feeling!"

The engine roared to life, and the Riders disappeared with Reimu flying right behind. Akari stomped her foot in frustration. Onari chose at that moment to make his appearance. "Akari," the monk began. "It's definitely not safe here. The fight is practically on our front door now."

Akari glared at him for a few seconds, still not over Takeru's sudden departure, before deflating. "Yeah, you're right. You still have that friend from Akina?"

"Indeed," Onari nodded, already on his phone. "Hello, Takumi? Fujiwara Takumi? This is Onari. Yeah, I have a favor to call in."

* * *

The three Riders had already donned their ghostly armor as they sped towards Shibuya with record speed. All around them screaming citizens were fleeing in terror. Flames licked the asphalt around them, and cars had clogged up the road, deserted by their panicked drivers. This proved to be little issue for the Riders, as Reimu and Takeru had natural flight capabilities, and Makoto simply donned Houdini's hood once again.

Takeru winced at the destruction around him, his expression hidden behind his mask. "I hope everyone made it out okay . . . ." he muttered.

Reimu doubted it, but she kept such thoughts to herself. "Ganma," she called out, summoning her weapons alongside her companions. "Let's go!"

The ghostly foottroops noticed their company as well. To the Riders' surprised, they knelt down in neat, orderly, rows, bringing pitch-black weapons to bare.

"Fire!" a voice shouted. Instantly the air was filled with bullets of ghostly flame, forcing Reimu to swerve out of the way, ducking and weaving through the firestorm as she sped along. Despite herself, she gave a small smile. This was what she was used to—flying through a storm of pain to shoot your adversary in the face. Close-quarter combat hadn't been an issue until recently.

Takeru and Makoto, on the other hand, weren't so lucky. Dark Ghost's user had yelped when the barrage initially fell upon him and dove behind a car for cover, advancing forward slowly. Specter, on the other hand, wasn't so agile. He took the shots to the face, braving through the pain, before crashing down on a car, Houdini's jetpack having been compromised. He immediately switched to Nobunaga and responded with his own barrage of rifle fire.

With Makoto and Reimu drawing the bulk of their foe's attention, Takeru could focus on whomever was giving them orders. Finally, he spotted it—a Ganma Superior clad in a short, ragged robe of red. A crimson mask was upon its face, sporting a haunting grin with wickedly sharp teeth. The Ganma held aloft a large, black bat, sharp spikes studded along its length.

"Oni?" Takeru frowned before shaking his head. He pumped his Driver once, feeling white ghost-fire rush into his axe. He cocked it back, aimed, and flung the weapon with all his strength.

"Omega Crash!"

The blade cut through the air in an arc, guided by the Omega Drive's fire. It honed in on the Oni Ganma Superior before slamming into it, embedding its head in the ghost's midsection before erupting in a burst of flame. The Ganma cried out, falling off of its perch into the footsoldiers below. That caused enough of a distraction for Makoto and Reimu to shoot down the distracted grunts with burst of Ganflame.

Barely pausing to catch their breath, the trio sped on, Makoto borrowing Newton's gravitational manipulation to float alongside the others.

"That Ganma," Takeru muttered. "It wasn't like the other Ganma we've faced. I think it was an oni."

That caught Reimu's attention. "Wait, what?" she demanded, swerving closer to him. "What's that about an oni Ganma?"

Takeru nodded. "It had the mask of an oni and it had one of those _kanabo_ ," he said. He held out the mask for Reimu, who took it. "This was by the Eyecon after the explosion."

Reimu frowned. "This . . . this is an artifact from the Underground," she realized. "But what's it doing all the way out here?"

"Something wrong?"

Reimu nodded. "This is from home," she replied. "A relic belonging to an Oni general from long ago. Yuugi claimed to be his descendant or something like that."

"Well, he went down easy enough," Makoto said. "We should be thankful that we didn't have to fight an actual oni."

Reimu rolled her eyes. "Just shoot some beans at them from a rifle and you're good," she dismissed.

"That would kill anyone," Takeru deadpanned.

"But that makes two," she said, ignoring him. "Two Ganma based on youkai from home. This . . . isn't good. I have a really bad feeling that this is going to end up horribly."

Whatever other thoughts Reimu had on the matter were interrupted by their arrival in the middle of the Shibuya Square. All around them the evidence of destruction was clear. Buildings were cracked, the streets ruined, and fire run rampant. Shapes that Reimu _hoped_ weren't bodies and puddles she _hoped_ weren't blood were scattered about the wreckage.

The Riders landed. "You," Reimu spat.

Necrom stood in the center, a host of Ganma behind him. "Ghost," he said bitterly. "Specter. Dark Ghost."

"Alain, what's _wrong_ with you?!" Makoto roared. "Those are _people_ that you've _killed!_ Do you realize what you've done?"

Necrom looked like he was about to speak, but was cut off from a different voice. "Of course he does, Makoto. A he did was squash a few insects."

From a massive Ganma Hole descended a veritable _army_ of Ganma. The black soldiers all fled to the sides of the squares, their sheer numbers spreading out through the streets. The army parted ways, and Specter knelt stiffly as a black stone chair touched down into the center of the street. Beside it stood a female Ganma, as straight at-attention as could possibly be.

Seated upon the throne was a Ganma in a white military uniform, gold lining his pristine robes. His regal adornment was marred by his slouched posture—his chin rested upon his hand as he reclined in the chair—and a mess of dark hair atop a cruel smirk.

"Adel," Makoto growled, and Reimu's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, come now, Makoto," Adel said airily. "Do behave yourself. It's not my fault they were weak enough to die."

Makoto raised his rifle, but the sound of several thousand Ganma all readying their own weapons gave him pause. Snarling, he lowered the gun.

Adel laughed. "Oh, this is wonderful. Alain comes running home, crying about how these mortals keep on besting him. Yet I don't even have to lift a finger." He smiled down at Necrom. "You see, Alain? This is how it's done. Absolute power, absolute will. Crush all those who oppose you."

Necrom said nothing. Adel sighed dramatically, rising from his chair, hands outstretched. "Now. I am a man of few words, so I'll give you my thanks, mortals. You have saved me the effort of slaughtering this entire city to find you." He paused. "That will still occur, of course, but now we might take doing such things at our leisure." He clasped his hands together before him. "I do hope you understand."

"What I _understand_ ," Reimu said, glaring, "Is that I'm going to kick your sorry excuse for a posterior twelve ways from here to the moon and back."

The Ganma Emperor tch'd. "I see," he shrugged. "Well, I might as well show you a few new toys before you die."

The Ganma Hole rippled. A myriad color of lights shone through, and from the eye descended a strange rectangular object, adorned with strange markings and an oddly-familiar symbol. It gleamed crimson in the morning light, glowing softly despite it being day.

From the moment it exited the hole Reimu had felt an oppressive presence from the monolith. Just looking at it made her head hurt and her ears buzz faintly. She shook her head to clear it of those weird sensations.

"Meet the Gammaizer, mortals," Adel declared haughtily. "Which one of you will be bold enough to face it first?"

Reimu was unsure of what to do. They had to fight a pillar? Well, she'd fought things just as strange, but still.

Adel sighed. "Oh well. Bring Makoto forth."

A soldier smacked Makoto in the back, causing him to stumble forward. He glared at the Ganma before turning around and glaring again at Adel, who simply smirked. "Go on, Makoto. Show me how well you die."

Specter let out a snarl, and he swung the Ganflame Rifle around and fired at the Monolith. The burning bullet flew and landed smack in the middle of the pillar, splashing it in a wave of ghostly fire. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the red rectangle swirled about with flames, and it disappeared into an orb of fire. The company present all shielded their eyes from the flare—all save Adel, who widened his and leaned forward to stare into the inferno, transfixed. As the fire spun, it began to gradually take shape. First a sphere—then two columns, then two more spheres. The light finally died down, and as it did, a vaguely humanoid figure was standing in the place of the monolith. It looked human, yes—but it looked more like fire than any living person. Its chest and shoulders were great balls of burning flame, its arms and legs like twisted mockeries of a flaming facsimile of the human limb. Its head was likewise a sphere of fire—yet in the center, a crimson orb stared out, encrowned by crimson tongues that leapt at the air. In the middle of the spheres was a black symbol—a circle of fire, cleaved down the middle.

Makoto staggered back. The heat was _immense_. He brought his weapon to bear, and managed to fire off a few more rounds before the weapon grew too hot and he dropped it onto the already-sizzling ground. He clutched his hand in pain as the Gammaizer took one step forward, the very ground beneath it melting in its wake. Around him he could see Ganma soldiers, rapt at attention, not caring that a number among them had spontaneously combusted from the monster's arrival.

"What is this?" he got out through gritted teeth.

"The Gammaizer of Fire, of course!" laughed Adel. As if a switch were flipped, Adel's mirthful chortles ceased, and his eyes hardened. "Finish him."

The Gammaizer stretched out one hand, and Makoto's cries were unheard as a pillar of flame engulfed him. Roaring, Reimu and Takeru leapt at the thing, but were similarly cast aflame.

Adel's lips grew thin in a malicious smile as he watched the three Riders burn in front of him. Their screams—Makoto's in particular—were music to his ears. After a minute of watching the Gammaizer immolate its victims, he snapped. Immediately the Gammaizer stopped. It once more dissolved into flame and congealed back into the red pillar.

The bodies of the Riders lay askew upon the ground, still smoking. Their paras had been burnt off, leaving only scorched armor and defeated spirits. "I am impressed," Adel said. "You manage to survive the fire of the Great Eye. Unfortunately, that just means you get to experience a much _worse_ death."

From the Ganma Hole descended another monolith, this time grey in color. Then another, but yellow. More and more monoliths descended, until they encircled the Emperor, fifteen in number. Reimu, through the hazy pain of burning, cried out as the oppressive presence grew exponentially stronger, crushing on her mind as a hand caught in a vice.

"Let's see . . . ." Adel muttered, glancing about him at the monoliths. He frowned, straining his ear as if listening to something. "Ah, perfect."

A teal light shone forth from one monolith. Behind them a swirling vortex spun into existence, energy lancing out from its center.

"This is the Gammaizer of Time," Adel stated. "It will send you to a time of my choosing. A time where you will be stuck to the howling rage of the world as you are slowly killed by the terror of the ages."

Adel slowly stepped over to Makoto before down so that his head was right above the Rider's helmet.

"Enjoy the future," Adel whispered.

Then the Emperor kicked the fallen Rider into the vortex, his body skidding across the ground before being swallowed up into the temporal tempest. Reimu and Takeru shortly followed, cast into the portal by Ganma soldiers.

Necrom had since risen, watching this whole ordeal with an oddly blank face. "Adel," he said. "What now?"

"Now?" Adel thought for a moment. Then he snapped. Necrom's eyes widened behind his mask as his arms were grabbed and forced behind him. He struggled, but the Ganma Superiors just held him there.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Necrom heard his sister's voice—and from the corner of his vision he could see her being handled with the same grace. "Adel, answer me!"

Adel laughed. "Oh, don't be fools. I can't have a commander who constantly fails and a sister who spies on me by my side, can I?"

"Unhand me at once!" Alia's demands went unanswered as she was unceremoniously shoved through the time-hole. Necrom couldn't believe what was going on. As he was dragged towards the vortex, he couldn't help but shout, "Adel! Why!? Why are you doing this!?"

Adel bent down, face-to-face with the struggling Necrom. "Oh, my dear brother," he cooed. "You're such a fool. Family doesn't matter. All that matters is who wins in the end."

"Even father?!" Necrom roared. "Father loved you! Why!?"

Adel sighed. "Alain, you really are stupid. Haven't you figured it out by now?" His eyes narrowed.

"I killed our father."

Alain could only stare in shock as he was shoved through the gate of time, Adel's last words ringing in his ears as he tumbled head-over-heels through the infinite void, until, at last, he was swallowed up by the waves of time.

* * *

Author's Note: Hello all. I apologize for my extended leave of absence. School started up again, and I kinda hit a writer's block. I'm not quite sure if I'm over it yet, but the ideas are flowing so that's at least _some_ good news. In other words, I've gone back and fixed some things in the earlier chapters that I wasn't satisfied with. Thank you all for reading, and be sure to drop a review if you have any questions or suggestions.


	13. Chapter 13: A Wrinkle In Time

**Chapter 13: A Wrinkle in Time**

The first thing Reimu noticed was the wind. The biting gusts bit into her with a hot, dry heat that was completely unpleasant. She twitched, and suddenly she was able to feel sand covering most of her body and scratching her face. She groaned and shifted, her attempts to rise shaking the fine rock off of her. She blinked blearily, before noticing that her body was in an incredible amount of pain. She winced, and quit trying to dig herself out. For a moment she just lay there, breathing heavily. Deciding that she should probably start moving, she lifted her head to take a look around.

"The Ganma's World?" she muttered, her vision filled with naught but endless red sand. Off in the distance she could see red cliffs loom above the desert. The sky was a nasty shade of orange, and a dull sun cut through the oddly-colored atmosphere. It certainly looked like the World of the Ganma, all right. It just didn't feel right, though.

Whatever it was, she needed to get moving. After some amount of struggle, she finally managed to free her aching body from the grip of the dunes. She stretched, grimacing as pain lanced through her frame. Though she knew she couldn't die, she gave herself a one-over. Looks like the fire didn't leave any marks, oddly enough.

She shook the sand out of her skirt before rising slightly into the air. She floated around a bit, looking about. "Hey, Takeru! Makoto! Where you at!?" she shouted, cupping her hands over her mouth. No response save the wind came back to her. She shrugged and tried again.

A half hour later founder her perched atop the dune she woke up in, head in her hands. They couldn't die—well, Takeru couldn't, at least—but it would be a problem finding them, she grumbled to herself. She lazily glanced over to her left, and nearly shot up in surprise.

Makoto's dark blue sweats were instantly recognizable, even all the way down at the base of the large hill of sand. She touched down and hurriedly began to dig him out. "Hey, Makoto, wake up!" she gently shook him after clearing him of enough sand.

The elder Fukami struggled awake. "Reimu?" he said hoarsely. "Izzat you?"

"Duh," she said with relief. "You're okay."

"Duh," he snorted. He moaned as he tried to sit up. "Ow, my everything hurts."

"Well, you did receive the worst of that . . . _thing's_ attack," Reimu said as she helped him up. "I don't assume you know what it is, do you?"

"Not a clue," he said. He glanced around the horizon, looking for the last member of their crew. "Where's Takeru?"

"No clue. He should be around, however."

Yet another short period of time later, and Takeru was rescued from the grasp of the sand, similar complaints of . . . relatively mild discomfort falling from his lips.

"So, where are we?" he asked after he finished complaining about his burns.

"It looks like the Ganma's World," Reimu replied, frowning. "But it doesn't _feel_ like it."

"Adel said something to me before I was thrown in." Makoto's words caught his partners' attention. "He said something about the future. But this looks nothing like Earth!"

Reimu shrugged. "I know plenty of people who have the power to turn cities to dust. Heck, it's my job to keep 'em in line. So it's not impossible."

"I don't like it," Makoto declared.

"Neither do I," Reimu sighed. "You're sure we're in the future?"

"Until we see proof, we won't know for sure," Takeru said. "It's a waste to think about things like this."

The other two nodded and looked about, searching for any kind of cover. Reimu floated up to the top of the hill, Takeru close behind.

"See anything?" panted Makoto when he finally reached the top.

"Nothing yet. I don't think we'll be able to make those cliffs anytime soon," Reimu said, hands over her eyes as she scanned the desert.

"Hey, what's that?" Takeru pointed down the slope to the other side. He slid down the hill, kneeling down to get a closer look.

"What is it?" Reimu asked as she touched down. She then paused. Takeru was holding a person, clad in a black military uniform, with an odd device strapped around his wrist.

"Alain," she muttered. She knelt by the ghost hunter. "Takeru, you sure about this?"

He let out a breath. "I don't like him. He hurt you guys and he doesn't care about human life. But he's still as much a victim in these circumstances as we are. We can't just leave him to die."

"He killed you too, you know."

He shrugged. "For some reason, I don't care much about that part. Must because I hang out with such a weird ghost all the time."

Despite herself, Reimu smiled. "Brat."

Makoto appeared from the top of another dune. "Guys, come quick." His expression hardened when he saw Alain, but he shook his head. "I found Princess Alia."

They dragged Alain up the slope and laid him next to the excavated Alia. They looked . . . peaceful, almost, despite having been sent to their deaths through the same wormhole they did. "So, what now?" Reimu asked.

"We wait for them to wake up," Makoto said. He leaned over, studying their prone forms. "Then we make them answer for their crimes."

Alain snapped up, causing Makoto to jerk back and fall into a fighting stance. To his side his sister did the same. For a few tense seconds, four pairs of eyes all glared at each other, hands raised in defense. Then after a moment Reimu sighed and hung her head. "Okay, quit it. It's not the time for that crap."

Alia slowly put her hands down, as did Makoto. Alain only put his down after Alia put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "What's going on?" she asked—demanded, rather.

"Adel tossed us through this weird hole, and now there's Ganma Desert everywhere," Makoto said curtly. "We were looking for cover before we ran into you sorry lot."

Alain made to speak but Alia held out her hand. "It seems we share a common goal for now," she started. "I propose a truce. Neither one of us makes a move on the other, at least until we put my brother back in his proper place."

"I don't see why we should have to work with that traitor," Alain spat, glaring daggers at Makoto.

"Why should I listen to a murderer?" Makoto growled back.

"You betrayed your home!"

"You killed my friends!"

"Uh, guys?" Takeru spoke up nervously. He had fallen back to the edge of the dune, and was now looking at something on the horizon. "Something's coming."

The four went to join him. Sure enough, a red cloud of dust was billowing up with great volume—and heading their way with incredibly speed.

"We should get going," Reimu declared, and four heads nodded. They took off running in the opposite direction, the two ghosts flying above the sands while other three had no problem navigating the dunes they were raised in. Yet even as they ran they could feel the ground tremble beneath them.

"It's getting closer!" Makoto yelled. "We should transform!"

"I tried!" Reimu yelled back. "It's not working!"

Makoto and Alain summoned their Drivers and activated the sequence. However, nothing happened. They dashed away, but it was too late. With an explosion of sand, a massive jaw emerged, snapping at the air. Teeth a foot long cut through the air like knives, and what followed look like the mix of some kind of shark and a lizard. It crashed back down, splashing sand as it burrowed back into the dunes.

"What was _that?!"_ Takeru yelped.

"I don't know!" Makoto yelled. "Alain!"

"Don't look at me!" the Ganma Prince snapped. "I'm just in the dark as you are!"

The ground rumbled, and the beast leaped out of a dune, mouth open, as it dove towards Makoto and Alain.

Takeru and Alia cried out, and Reimu shot forward. But she wasn't fast enough.

The beast's jaws snapped closed, and it hit the sand, slicing into it as a whale into water.

"Alain!" "Makoto!" Alia and Takeru rushed over to where their friends had just been standing. Reimu looked on in shock. Already two of their number had fallen?

"W-what was that?!" Makoto's shocked voice came from the side. They turned, and the two were still reeling from the near miss, shock upon their faces. A cloaked figure stood above them.

"Who are you?" Alain asked. The figure pulled down the hood, revealing light brown hair and the face of a young man.

"You okay?" he asked. They nodded and he let out a breath of relief. "Good. Wait here."

He stepped out into the clearing, even as the ground shook. From his cloak he drew a long blade which glowed with an ethereal light. As the beast burst out of the ground, he dashed forward, his sword flashing in the crimson light. A splatter of blood on the sands, and the beast cried out in pain, diving back into the sands in surprise.

"It'll come back soon. Let's make our move," he said, stowing his sword away. The group followed him with some slight trepidation, and they ran across the red sands. Reimu didn't know for how long they ran—it seemed like hours, and the sun was still high in the sky—but eventually they came across the ruins of a building, its structure faded away to the wind and sands. Its rusted exterior offered some protection against the elements, at least.

After the five had caught their breath, the stranger stood up in front of them. "Y'all are probable wondering where you are," he started, "and how I found you so quickly."

"Something like that," Alia nodded.

"I'm part of a group who rescues people from the badlands," he said. "You can call me Ayumu. We picked up the signal of a temporal disturbance and I went to check it out. Then I came across you guys bein' attacked by a Gundari."

Alia frowned. "Gundari? But they look nothing of the sort."

Ayumu raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. "That's the way they look 'round these parts. Dunno where you folks are from, but I guess it don't matter much." He nodded. "Anyways, welcome to Earth. Any other questions will have to wait 'till we get to base."

Reimu shared a glance with the others. So it _wasn't_ the Ganma's World after all. "Pardon my asking, but what year is it?" Alia spoke up once again.

"Right, you folks fell through a time-hole," he nodded. "Uh, in the Year of the Great Eye, it's 1056 N.A."

"What about A.D.?" Takeru asked.

Ayumu glanced upwards, thinking. "I'd reckon 2046," he said.

"That answers that," Reimu muttered. "We're in the future."

* * *

Ayumu led them to the upper structure of the fallen building, where he raised his sword and spoke into a hand-radio. After a few moments, a light surrounded the party, and when the glare faded they found themselves in an artificially-lit room the size of a gymnasium. All around them crates were stacked, and people bustled about, keeping busy. They were lead through twisting hallways to a medical bay, where a mature-looking doctor with unkempt hair and a bit of stubble was waiting.

"Dr. Hojo," he greeted. "Five from the time-hole."

"Thank you," Hojo thanked him. He turned to the time-travellers. "I'm Emu Hojo, a doctor here. I'm going to perform a few scans to make sure you haven't contracted anything."

He brought out an odd stethoscope-like device, with a strange machine replacing the chestpiece. He ran the contraption over them several times before turning it off and nodding. He had them all step into a strange box-like machine for another scan, and the last look-over was taken in an MRI-like device.

"You're good to go," the doctor told them. "Head down the hall there and make a left into those brass double doors. Ayumu, I want a word with you really quick."

Alia leading them, they quickly found their way in a moderately large conference room. There were a few people all seated around the table, all dressed in worn attire. They quickly took their place in some empty seats. The doors opened a few minutes later to reveal Dr. Hojo and Ayumu, along with three other men in white labcoats. They took their places, and a grizzled old man rose.

"So, you're the time travelers," he said simply. "We'll get to the point. I am Cormano. I am the leader of this ragtag group of misfits." Reimu swore she heard a few small chuckles, but when she looked about everyone's faces were emotionless.

"For better or for worse, you're stuck after the end of the world, I'm sorry to say." Reimu had suspected as much, but to hear it outright was still shocking. Out of the corner of her eye she saw similar reactions among her companions—shock and confusion. "The vast majority of the world lies in the iron grip of the Great Emperor, as he calls himself. Free will is prohibited, and humans are merely resources to get what he wants." He sat down, and a girl in a pastel dress with pink hair rose.

"I'm Poppy," she said. "Now, you've all been scanned for any illness or physical defect in your body—we can't have that spreading here. We also screened you for mind control from the Great Emperor. You passed, which is why you are here. Now that you know your situation, any questions?"

Reimu stood. "So this is really Earth, huh? What exactly happened?"

Poppy nodded and began the tale of the end of the world.

 _Thirty-two years ago, a disease broke out among the populace. It was an odd thing, possessing qualities of a computer virus, yet still managing to harm organic life. One side-effect of the disease was the manifestation of video game characters in real life, called Bugsters. A team of doctors attempted to curb the threat, but as soon as things started to look up . . ._

 _A massive being, straight out of a kaiju movie, appeared in Japan one day, right off the coast. The few who remember seeing it—the few who are left sane, that is—remember a demented mockery of a man, with vile tendrils for hands and a single, massive white eye in place of a head. It laid waste to Japan, and soon went onto wreak a trail of destruction across the earth. The Earth fought back valiantly, its armed forces and metahumans putting up a surprisingly good fight. In the end, however, the eldritch titan known as the Great Emperor won the day, and 70% of the world's heroes died. Over the next twenty years, 65% of the general human population perished, and 45% of the remaining population would fall under the Great Emperor's control. The surviving populace live in domed cities, scattered across the world, protected from the corruption of the abomination and the harsh elements by etherial domes created from the heroic sacrifices of those who fought the beast._

 _This group is known as the Riders of Freedom, a resistance group located in the Domed City of Tachibana. Cormano leads these freedom fighters as they slowly build up their strength, hoping one day to storm the Emperor's City, A'gmhnxykh-C'q'mULa._

 _Not all hope was lost, however. Nonhuman races from all across the world have joined together with humanity under a united banner to survive after the end. Youkai, humans, Roidmudes and more—all living together in the same city, holding hands as they face the future._

Poppy finished her tale, smiling. "And that's why we're here. To rebuild humanity humanity—and non-humanity—after the end."

After a moment of silence, Alia spoke up. "What happened to the Ganma kingdom?"

"Huh?" Poppy tilted her head.

"The Ganma Kingdom. Certainly you must have encountered some Ganma around, have you not?" she asked.

Poppy nodded. "There are Ganma around, to be sure. However, the kingdom of which you speak perished when the end of the world came about . . . or so they say. Apparently most of them were wiped out twenty years ago."

Alia, for her credit, simply nodded. "I see," she said quietly.

With that over, the five were excused, and they made their way out.

"Sister . . . ." Alain began.

"I know, Alain," Alia sighed.

"But where was the Great Eye throughout all of this?" he pressed. "We had its blessing! Didn't we?"

"I don't know, Alain," came the reply.

"Hold up, you two," Emu's voice came from behind them. Emu and Ayumu strode up to them, the latter having switched from desert cloak to combat pants and an orange jacket. "You three go on ahead. We just want to ask them a few questions."

Reimu, Makoto and Takeru nodded and left, not particularly caring what happened to their former enemies. Alia and Alain were left with the two resistance members.

"For what do you require our presence?" Alia inquired, her posture formal. Alain adopted a similar one as well.

"I'll cut right to the chase," Ayumu said. "You two are Ganma royalty, aren't you."

Alia blinked her surprise as Alain frowned. "Yes, indeed. Why?"

"The scan earlier told us that you were Ganma. That, and you have the very likeness of the late Prince and Princess of the Ganma Kingdom." Ayumu's eyes narrowed. "Just a word of warning. You might find that despite everyone coming together, people aren't so accepting of Ganma around here. After all, they're the cause of all this."

"What do you mean?" Alain asked.

Alia was silent for a moment. "Adel," she concluded.

Emu nodded. "It was something Adel did that summoned the Great Emperor to the world. Eventually, he was killed, and the monster he created was unleashed upon the world."

The two siblings were silent. "He deserves it," Alain muttered.

"Alain!" Alia said sharply.

"He killed our father!" Alain couldn't take it anymore. "He's the one who did all of this!"

Alia closed her eyes. "So, it was him."

"You knew?"

"Suspected. I didn't bring it up because . . . well, he was the king and all." The eldest Ganma sibling sighed. "I apologize, Dr. Hojo, Ayumu. It's all just so much at once."

Ayumu nodded. "I understand. I must apologize as well. I didn't mean to place so much on you at once—I thought just to warn you that the rest of the base might be a bit on-edge."

Alia made to respond, but then a klaxon blared through the base. "Emergency," a voice shouted over a communications system. "First barrier breach. Swarm of Ocumalds incoming." The voice then rattled off a series of coordinates.

"Hold that thought," Ayumu said. "Can you fight?"

"Yes," Alain replied.

"No," Alia amended, holding up her transformation brace. "It's not working."

"We have standard weaponry," Ayumu said, turning to Emu. "Send them to go with Hanaya and Kujo," he said. "I'll be out in my normal spot."

Emu nodded. "Come, this way."

The pair followed the doctor, who led them past squads of hurried men to a hangar. Inside the hangar were two other doctors—one had a skunk-stripe in his hair and military boots to match his camo pants, while the other wore his white labcoat on the outside as if it were a fashion statement. Skunk-stripe seemed to be around Emu's age, if not older, while the other was around their own.

Skunk-stripe also sported a rather impressive full beard.

"Dr. Kujo, Dr. Hanaya," Emu introduced them, "meet Alain and Alia. They'll be with your squad."

The one with the skunk-stripe snorted. "Great, fresh meat."

"Relax, man," the other said. "It should be fine."

The old man snorted. "Whatever." He tossed the Ganma Royalty a pair of blackened rifles. "Ammo's on that wall. If you want to live, don't get hit."

"Jeez, that's great advice," the other snorted. "Ignore him, he's just a grumpy old man."

"Shut it, Kiriya Kujo."

"Whatever, Doctor Taiga," Kiriya smirked behind his sunglasses. "Anyhoo, if you're out here, you know how to fight. Don't die, and you get to eat tonight."

Alain scoffed. "I won't die so easily."

"Great," Taiga nodded. He nodded, and a light akin to the teleportation glow from earlier shone in the room. "Let's go!"

* * *

In the ruins of a city street, Makoto followed behind an elderly clean-shaven Japanese man in a lab coat and suit—Dr. Hiiro Kagami. Thankfully, he and the other two Riders were able to summon their Ganflame weapons, so they could still fight even without the suit. He briefly wondered if they were still summoning from wherever they lay last. Maybe where their bodies in this time rested.

Dismissing such thoughts, he slung the Ganflame Rifle across his back and gripped the Ganflame Scythe. "Orders?"

Hiiro regarded him cooly. "You are to support me from afar. You don't have the defense necessary to survive a hit from these things." He held a strange green object up to his waist, and a belt shot out, wrapping around him. He brought out a strange rectangle from his labcoat pocket and held it out. He pressed it, eliciting a garishly cheerful "Taddle Quest!" from the device that reminded Makoto of his belt's own choruses.

"Henshin," he stated matter-of factly, sliding the device into the belt. He pulled open a lever on the belt, opening it up.

"Click and load!" the belt sang, even as a . . . character select screen from a video game? swirled around him. Hiiro thrust his hand out to the left, selecting a character, and a rectangle of data phased through him. Armor formed around him and the belt continued to chant.

A knight of old now stood before Makoto, buckler on his arm and flaming sword in his hand.

"Come!" he said, charging forward. Makoto let out a yell as he charged alongside the rest of the fighters gathered, adrenaline surging through his veins. With a loud noise, they fell upon the horde.

* * *

Reimu brought her shotgun to bear, blasting away a creature. These things were like zombies—they seemed to be made out of shadow, and they crawled upon all fours. These perversions of the human figure kept coming from every angle, seemingly endlessly.

"Do keep up," an annoyingly amused voice said. Reimu rolled her eyes at her company: a man in red-and-blue armor wielding an odd drill-shaped gun. "I've got the formula for our victory, and I'd hate to adjust it based on your death."

"Gee, thanks," she muttered.

Sento Kiryu grinned behind his mask. "Incoming!"

Another one of those zombies had crashed into the clearing where they fought. It was larger than the most, and stood upon two feet. Upon its face it wore a white mask engraved with an odd symbol—something Reimu couldn't make out from there. It tilted its head back in a voiceless howl, and leapt at the young woman.

She rolled out of the way, blasting away with her shotgun. Her barrage stunned it, causing it to stumble—yet it continued as if she had never shot it in the first place. She backed up, blasting it with wave after wave of fire—yet still it came.

"What's up with this thing!?" she shouted, leaping out of the way of a leaping attack.

"Ah, that!" Sento nodded. "It's like the zombie-things, but tougher."

"I can _see_ that," Reimu took her frustrations out on the creature by throwing a sword at it, "but what _is_ it?"

"A vengeful spirit! A temporal anomaly! The manifestation of mankind's sins!" Sento cheerfully kicked a monster in the face. "But I, in my genius, have figured it out! The members of an ancient civilization, warped beyond comprehension by an evil power! Tragically doomed to serve for an eternity, trapped within their own minds! The only thing scarier is my own intellect!"

Reimu rolled her eyes, retrieving her fallen sword before punching the thing in the mask. "Stay down!"

"You know what the really sad thing is?" Sento began.

"No," Reimu replied, not caring.

"Their own god turned on them! The Great Emperor, who promised them life immortal, changed them into mindless slaves!" Sento sighed, shooting a monster with his drill-gun. "How lamentable."

Reimu rolled her eyes again before plunging her sword through the thing's chest. It twitched, and then went still. Making sure the thing was dead, she squatted down, peering at its mask. It was oddly familiar—the lines created a swirling circle, leaving a hollow space in the center.

Almost like an eye.

Reimu's eyes widened, the info Sento had just told her clicking together. It all started to make sense.

"It really is a tragedy," the physicist nodded somberly as the blackened shapes fled, "the plight of the Ganma."

* * *

Takeru glanced worriedly at his companions. Reimu had delivered them all grave news, and, from the looks of it, Alain and Alia had pieced things together themselves as well. The Ganma Royalty were in the corner of the mess hall they were in, dealing with the fact that their entire world had just crashed down around them.

"Your friend's takin' this pretty hard, huh?" Sento Kiryu asked. The elderly physicist was, despite his age, as full of pep as his younger comrades.

"Kiryu, shut up," an equally-elderly man in a sweatshirt told him.

"Ryuga, you're no fun."

"I don't care, shut up."

"Give it a rest, you two," Emu Hojo sighed. He approached, flanked by the man in the suit from the meeting room. "Sento, Kiriya needs you in the west wing. Ryuga, Cormano in the north."

As the two men left, the doctor turned to Takeru. "I apologize for his behavior. He's got a tendency to be like that."

"Apologize to me," Reimu complained. "I had to put up with him."

Emu put a hand on her shoulder before facing the group. "So you all have a connection to the Ganma, huh?"

"Yeah," Takeru admitted. "Back where . . . when we came from, we fought them to prevent them from taking over the world. Even with all of the horrible stuff they did, I wouldn't want _this_ to happen to them."

"Speak for yourself," Makoto huffed. "They deserved it."

Emu looked sharply at the elder Fukami, who simply stared stubbornly back. He sighed. "Just don't let any of the Ganma refugees hear that. They're having a hard enough time as it is." He shook his head. "But enough of that. From what you told us earlier, you fight folks use the Ghost Drivers, correct?"

Takeru nodded, thinking back to what they were asked before they deployed. "How did you know?"

"I . . . fought with some people who used them a long time ago. They were part of the founding members of the resistance." Emu's eyes closed in a painful remembrance. "But that was a long time ago. Dan has . . . offered to repair your Drivers so that you may use them again."

The suited man scoffed. "So you say."

"Thank you," Takeru bowed with the other Riders. "But why did they stop working in the first place?"

"Temporal anomaly," Dan said. "Or something close. The force that threw you back through time reversed the spiritual polarity of the device, interfering with the phantasmal subroutine of the transformation sequence."

"Huh?"

"It messed up your Driver," Dan repeated. The Riders "Aaah"d in understanding. "A difficult thing to repair, to be sure. BUT! It is a simple task for one such as me, the GAME MASTER!"

Dan broke off into a peal of villainous laughter. Takeru glanced at Emu. "Is he . . . ?"

"Always like this? Unfortunately." The eldely doctor sighed. "Ignore him, he's got a tendency to rant."

Takeru nodded. It was certainly convenient that they'd be able to fight again straightaway, but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. He bowed, and was about to head back to the space he was given for his stay here. Reimu, however, had other plans.

"When you said the Ghost Drivers had a previous user," the ghost began, "what do you mean? Who were the previous users?"

Emu once more closed his eyes. "My comrades-in-arms from a previous age. One was Ayumu's father, the other was the mother of Rei—another Resistance member. There were a few more, but they all died nearly thirty years ago."

Takeru felt a chill run through him. "What were their names?"

"Takeru Tenkuji, Reimu Hakurei, and Makoto Fukami," Emu began. He let out a breath. "The Ghost Riders." Emu squinted. "Speaking of which, I never did catch yours. In all the haste we forgot to get your names."

Takeru gulped. "Takeru Tenkuji."

"Reimu Hakurei," Reimu grit out.

"Makoto Fukami," Makoto whispered.

Emu paled. "Oh. Oh dear."


	14. Chapter 14: Doubts

**Chapter 14: Doubts**

Atop the northern cliffside that served as the headquarters of the Tachibana-Branch Resistance stood a figure in red. He wore a simple crimson tunic and equally-crimson pants, with detached sleeves and a white bandanna. At his hip was a silver cylinder. His long hair was tied back into a brown ponytail. The figure stared out over the sands, his back to the city as he gazed through the dome and out into the wastes.

Sensing someone behind him, he tensed slightly. "Who's there?" he asked softly.

"One of the newcomers," said a bored-sounding female. He turned, impressed that they managed to sneak up on him without him hearing their footsteps—and realized the reason for that.

She was floating off the ground.

" . . . Who are you?" he asked, expression neutral.

"Ain't it rude to demand someone's name before giving your own?"

"Is it?"

A beat.

"Ugh, fine. I'm Reimu." She shook her head in exasperation.

" . . . I'm Rei."

"Haku Rei, correct?" Reimu sighed. "Real creative. It's just 'Hakurei' split up."

Rei tensed. "How did you know that? Who are you?" His hand strayed to the cylinder at his waist.

"Because I'm a Hakurei myself, duh." She snorted. "Reimu. I'm apparently your mom."

Rei had heard enough. He snatched the cylinder and aimed it at her. From it emanated a beam of light, green in color, stopping just as it reached Reimu's throat. "Start talking."

Reimu threw her hands up. "Okay okay! Jeez!" She grimaced.

"My mother died twenty years ago saving innocent lives, my father with her. Who are you _really?_ " Rei asked coldly.

"Yukari Yakumo. Who do you think?" Reimu looked at him pointedly. "Can't you sense the Hakurei power or something?"

He frowned. Indeed, now that he looked for it, there _was_ something there. It felt . . . familiar. Still, that wasn't enough. "You expect me to believe you?"

"Actually, I don't care," she deadpanned. "Emu told me I should do this, though."

Rei lowered his saber. "That sound like something my mother would say," he said softly. "You are a time traveler, right?"

"Not of my own volition," she huffed. "Anyway, if that's all, I'm gonna head back."

"Wait." Rei sheathed his weapon. Closing his eyes, he held up a hand. The air around him wavered, and two spheres popped into existence—red and white, colors balanced in a swirl.

"The Yin-Yang Orbs," Rei muttered. "If you're a Hakurei, they'll know."

Reimu shrugged as the Yin-Yang Orbs slowly floated over to her, circling her. After a tense moment (tense for Rei, bored for Reimu) the Orbs stopped, pulsed gently, and lazily orbited her.

"See?" Reimu grumbled. "Can I go now?"

She turned to leave, but she suddenly felt one-hundred-and-fifty pounds of muscle crash into her. "Mother!"

"Gah!" Reimu choked out as her son from the future crushed her in a bearhug. "Can't . . . breath . . .!"

Elsewhere, the god of the Hakruei Shrine smiled. It had been far, far too long.

* * *

"I brought you something to eat," Alia said, setting a tray of food on the table. "It's not much, but it's something."

Alain remained unresponsive.

She sighed in worry. "Alain, please. You have to eat something."

" . . . How?"

"Hm?"

Alain looked up at her, his eyes red. "How can you go on like this knowing your entire life is a lie?"

She sat down next to him. "Not all of it is a lie, Alain."

"But it is," he muttered. "Where did we go wrong? Why did the Great Eye abandon us?"

She had no answer. Instead, she just put an arm around him and pulled him close.

A moment passed. The, she removed her arm as she stood. "I have to go to the meeting room. You'll be fine, right?"

Nothing. She took that to mean he was fine for the time being. "I'll be back," she said softly.

Alain was left alone to his thoughts. Hurt and betrayal raged inside him, emotions swirling about like a tempest. Occasionally tears would fall from his eyes, and he let them fall, not caring that others may see. Throughout this all, one question stayed at the forefront of his mind: why?

He didn't know how much time had passed before another voice startled him from his thoughts. "Lord Alain? Is it truly you?"

Red eyes were slowly raised, greeted by the sight of an old man bearing a familiar visage. " . . . Gyro?"

Gyro, now aged, smiled softly. "It is . . . good to see you again, Prince Alain. Even if you aren't the Alain I knew."

"Gyro? But . . . you're old!"

The aged Ganma chuckled. He no longer wore his military uniform, now wrapped in a tight cloak covering a simple tunic. "Milord, I overheard that you are from the past. This is true, correct?" At Alain's hesitating nod, he continued. "You know, you yourself had a similar response to this situation, all those years ago."

"I did?"

The former Ganma commander nodded. "You were devastated at your brother's betrayal, and the fact that all of your fighting—all you had suffered—was for nothing. That's what you feel now, correct?"

Alain's breath hitched. " . . . Yes," he admitted surprising himself.

Gyro nodded. "Milord, you're too focused upon yourself. Keep this up and you'll only self-destruct."

The Ganma Prince rose, indignant. "First of all, how dare—"

Gyro shifted his cloak, and Alain's words died in his throat. The prince's eyes trailed down Gyro's right arm—or, rather, where it used to be. From the shoulder down was just empty space.

Gyro smirked a little at Alain's flabbergasted reaction. "I received this wound in battle, Milord. Though it cost me my service, it was able to spur you into action once again—a price I believe worth paying."

"But . . . why? How?"

Gyro let his cloak fall. "You had fallen into a funk, as you had said back then, and you had become distracted on the battlefield. Naturally, I took the blow for you. After that day, you were a changed man. You threw yourself into the cause of the Resistance, and went onto become a hero of the free peoples of Earth."

A moment of silence. "Why are you telling me this, Gyro?" Alain asked wearily.

"Because I know you can overcome this, Alain." Alain blinked his surprise. Gyro _never_ used his first name. "You're stronger than you think. You say that everything you did was a lie." Gyro's weathered brows frowned. "Is that so, milord? What about the people? What about your family? What about your friends?"

"I don't . . ." Alain trailed off. "They're not my friends."

Sighing, the elderly Ganma combat instructor righted himself. "Milord, I just want you to reaffirm that your reason for doing things is in the right place. Fight once again for your people, so that they may be free from the tyranny of the Great Eye." He turned to walk away, and said, "And if not, you had best find a reason. Your friends, your family—we all need you."

Gyro hobbled away, and Alain was left to his thoughts, his mind's tempest raging once again. Yet amidst the storm a solitary ray of sunlight had broken through.

* * *

"I still can't believe you're my father."

Ayumu and Takeru were atop the wall on the southern outpost, the latter having found the former while they were making rounds. Takeru admitted to the freedom fighter what Dr. Hojo had said earlier, and, after Ayumu processed the information, the two Tenkujis conversed at length while they guarded the perimeter.

"I can't believe it myself," Takeru admitted. "It's all so . . . strange. Part of me is surprised by the fact that I'm taking this whole 'end of the world' situation extremely well."

"You've certainly had a strange life, haven't you?" Ayumu chuckled.

Takeru nodded wryly. "Ghosts invade Japan, one of my best friends shows up after ten years, my dad's soul is stuck in a sphere." He sighed. "I'm still unsure of how to feel on that last one. According to Reimu, he hasn't said a word since when she first got Boost."

"You know, you ended up coming back to life," Ayumu said after a moment. "So there's a bit of good news there."

Takeru didn't say anything, but the freedom fighter saw him visibly relax. "You're not breaking any rules by telling me that, are you?"

"You mean the thing where a small change to the past could change the future?" Ayumu asked. Takeru nodded. "Well, the future can't really get any worse than this. I figure any change is welcome."

The two made small talk, mostly of Takeru asking his son what his life was like. Ayumu shrugged, saying that it was just patrols, rescuing people, taking care of zombified Ganma. Their conversation went on as such, until Ayumu spotted something off in the distance. "What's that?"

Takeru frowned. "It's a cloud of dust."

Ayumu's eyes narrowed "Gundari."

The pair sprinted back into the main camp, weaving their ways through the hallways until they found themselves in the docking bay.

"Where's your sword?" Takeru asked his son.

"It's actually not mine," the brunette admitted. "It's Rei's. I had it because rescuing you guys was an emergency and it was the first thing I grabbed." He pressed a button on his wristwatch, and large blue armor formed around him. With the blue plating and the bulkiness of the suit, he resembled a knight of old.

"Then what _do_ you use?"

Ayumu grinned down at his father, the large power suit giving him a foot above the ghost hunter. He hefted a large mechanical-looking battleaxe from the wall. "I use polearms. Rei has swords, I have axes."

Rei appeared in the doorway, closely followed by Reimu. "What is it?" the other freedom fighter asked, already in his combat gear.

Ayumu nodded towards the weapons rack. "Gundari—a bunch of 'em by the looks of it. They somehow managed to slip past our sensors—they're not five miles off."

Rei winced, slipping the longsword Ayumu had used earlier over his shoulder. "That's far too close."

"Yeah." Ayumu cracked his neck before covering his head with a domed helmet. "Ready?"

"Wait," Reimu frowned at Rei's weapon. "That's the Roukanken. That's Youmu's sword."

Rei nodded somberly. "Lady Youmu bequeathed you this weapon . . . a long time ago. She died protecting the Netherworld from the Great Emperor. It was her final act."

A shadow fell over Reimu's face. "I see," she said softly. Takeru swore he heard her voice hitch, but said nothing. "Keep that weapon safe."

"Don't worry, . . . mom. I will."

"Ready?" Ayumu's voice, muffled and mechanical, came through his suit's speaker.

"Yeah." With one last look at his mother, Rei stepped with Ayumu into a raised pad.

"Two to transport." In a flash of light, the two vanished.

A moment later, Reimu sat down onto the floor, hard. "You okay, Reimu?" Takeru asked.

"I will be," she said. "It's just . . . I never thought the folks back home would bite it, you know? They're too tough to die. At least, that's what I thought."

Takeru sat by her. "The friends you talked about a while ago, right?"

"Not my friends," she said automatically. She then sighed. "They're all plenty strong. If even _they_ have died, then just what exactly are we up against here?"

"I'm not sure," Takeru muttered. "We might be in way over our heads." He nodded. "But we can't give up now. We have to press on—for those who are behind and those who are ahead."

" . . . Heh, I guess you're right." Reimu smiled softly.

The two stood, before Makoto barged into the weapons room, panting. "Guys, come quick. Dan says he's got a breakthrough."

* * *

Ayumu, clad in the bulky power armor he called the Ghost Buster, sped over the wasteland sands towards the disturbance. His suit's jets hovered him over the dunes and propelled him at speeds unmatched by conventional vehicles. Rei easily kept up on-foot—he had inherited a bit of his mother's flotational power, each step displacing nary a grain of sand as he leapt from dune to dune.

"Ready?" Ayumu asked his partner, hefting his axe. Rei nodded, drawing his energy saber, but not activating it just yet. They raced up a particularly steep hill, the top inching into view.

"Now!" Even as Ayumu's cry came, the Gundari burst out of the sand, shrieking as it dove towards the two fighters. Ayumu blasted forward, slamming his axe into the thing's hide. Rei leapt over it, slashing away with his saber as he skated the leathery skin. The thing howled in pain as the pair completed their first pass.

Rei turned, sprinting across the dunes as the Gundari thrashed about. He spun and swung, a crescent wave lancing out from his emerald blade. The wave flew true, slicing through the tail and giving rise to another ear-splitting shriek. Even as it twisted to glare with wild eyes at Rei, Ayumu had propelled high into the air, before slamming his axe on its broad skull, cracking it and rending its brain asunder. He held on tight as it spasmed about in the throes of death, before finally stopping, its life bleeding out into the sand. He hefted his axe, wiping it on the wasteland. "How'd it make it so far past the sensors?"

"Don't know," Rei muttered as he deactivated his saber. "Where are the others?"

As if on cue, two more Gundari burst out of the wastes and made for the base. "There they are," Ayumu huffed. He stuck his axe on his back, and unsheathed a massive gun—it looked more like a cannon than anything else. He fired, and a bolt of blue flame shot from the massive barrel, exploding into a Gundari's side. As it wailed in the sands, the other sped off, but was quickly intercepted by Rei, who bore upon it with both blades drawn. The ghostly blade of Harouken and the buzzing energy of the beam saber flashed more times than the eye could follow, and a checker pattern of what the Gundari used for blood split open upon the beast's head. Rei spun, his blades dancing in the red sun, and the Gundari fell to the ground, piece by piece. Another explosion signaled to Rei that Ayumu finished taking care of the other.

"I've never known them to hunt in packs of three," Ayumu muttered. "They're normally solo hunters."

"Something's definitely off." Rei agreed.

Just then, a mile off, no fewer than ten Gundari burst out of the sands, streaking towards the domed city. "What!?"

"They played us," Ayumu growled. He blasted his jets, flying forward as he fired upon the swarm. Rei sped across the sands, blades outstretched—

—but they wouldn't make it in time.

* * *

"Awfully convenient of Dan to fix the Drivers right when we needed them," Reimu muttered. The three Riders were back in the docking bay, Drivers in hand.

"Actually, Dan says he finished them a bit ago," Makoto explained. "He just waited until a dramatic moment to reveal it."

"Oh, gee, how wonderful."

Takeru looked at the Eyecon in his hand. "So, according to him, our Eyecons don't work because we're in the future? And that's why we have these new ones?"

"Yes? No?" Makoto sighed. "He started to say something, but then he tangented into a rant about his 'godly talents'. But it can wait." He held up his Driver to his waist, the familiar sensation of it burning to life flaring up once again. "I'm still surprised we can take these things off."

Takeru activated his Eyecon. "All right. Henshin!"

He slammed the Eyecon in his Driver and cranked the lever. "Eyes open! Ex-Aid!" A pink Parka Ghost shot out as the white-boned armor formed around him. "New levels on parade! Game clear, Ex-Aid!"

He was garishly pink. It clashed horribly with Dark Ghost's armor, and his faceplate was unlike anything he'd ever had before. "Wow, this feels interesting."

"You look horrible," Reimu deadpanned as she initiated the transformation sequence along with Makoto. Orange and blue armors took form, and orange and blue Parka Ghosts materialized. "Eyes open! Gaim! Blade!"

"Orange! Banana! It's quite the dilemma!"

"Waving the blade! The trump card's a spade!"

Reimu's Parka had orange body armor resembling that of a samurai. Makoto's had a horn at the top of his hood and a spade on his jacket. Reimu glanced at Makoto. "You look stupid as well."

"So do you," Alia said from the doorway. Her Ulorder was strapped to her wrist, the Eyecon already inserted. "I'm coming with you all."

"How's Alain?" Takeru asked. She looked surprised, but shook her head. "He's incapable of fighting right now. We'll have to make do." She activated her brace.

"Eyes open! Kabuto!" A crimson Parka settled atop black Necrom armor. "Immediate acceleration! Cast off!" Her form reminded Takeru of a beetle, right down to the horn on her head.

A beat. "Yeah, you look the worst," Reimu decided. "Hey, operator. Four to transfer."

A flash, and the four were whisked away.

[break]

A trail of dead Gundari lay in their wake. Ayumu and Rei continued chase, pursuing the veritable flood of the beasts that had suddenly shot out of the sands. "There's too many!" Rei cried, dodging a tail before slicing it off. "There's no end to them!"

"Don't give up!" Ayumu roared. His helmet had been since knocked free, and he swung his axe with reckless abandon. "Everyone's depending on us!"

Rei's response was cut off by a stray Gundari slamming him into the dunes. "Rei!"

The Gundari sped towards Ayumu, jaws outstretched. He braced himself, gritting his teeth.

"Move, old man!"

An orange blur slammed into the Gundari, smashing it into the sand. It howled out in pain, and its cries were soon silenced by three other colored blurs finishing it off.

"Reimu?" he shook his head. "What's going on?"

The dust settled, and before him were four spectral Riders, clad in legendary Parkas of their seniors. "Dan the Madman managed to fix these for us," Reimu responded, shrugging Gaim's orange samurai armor. "I guess."

Takeru nodded Ex-Aid's expression-filled mask. "Ayumu, what's going on? Why are there so many Gundari?"

Ayumu frowned. "I don't know. But we can't let them get to the city!" He hefted his axe, and winced, pain lancing through his side. The things must've gotten him earlier when he wasn't looking.

Makoto put an armored hand on his shoulder. "We got it for now. Stay here and look after Rei." Without another word, the four sped off.

Reimu thought it a great irony that she was the slowest in this form. Takeru's had incredible jumping power and platform creation and Alia's was already amist the swarm, her impossible speed letting her dish out damage while slipping through the monsters' grasp. Makoto initially trailed along with her, before discovering he had a speed boost of his own, which led him to take off, charging through the sand.

"Sure, fine, leave me," she mumbled. "I hate this."

A Gundari's roar as it bore down upon her increased her frustration. With an exasperated groan, she drew an orange katana from her belt, settling into a stance that reminded her of Musashi. Suddenly, she _moved_ , and Gundari crashed into the sand—right after its head.

"Huh," she blinked her surprise as she glanced over the citrus-themed blade. "Not bad, for a fruit samurai."

Takeru found his form's hammer to be quite familiar to his own axe. He also found that the blocks were far more useful than he initially realized—they were excellent at trapping and limiting the movement of his opposition, as well as providing platforms for his allies to fight upon. He smashed in a Gundari's skull, turning to Makoto. "Makoto! You okay?"

Makoto was having the hardest time adjusting to his new form. His sword was large and clunky, his armor was bulky, and he kept on dropping the cards that were somehow stashed inside the sword. "Give me a moment!"

Takeru felt sweat drop down his neck as Makoto yelled in frustration before kicking his sword at one of the sand-beasts, which promptly bounced off and skittered across the conjured platform. "Makoto, you're supposed to use the cards, remember!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Makoto grumbled as he picked up his sword. He tapped a card onto the blade, and it shone briefly before disappearing. "Huh." He threw the blade again, and this time it sank into the beast's hide, eliciting a scream. "Well, that works."

"I think you've got it wrong," Takeru muttered.

Alia, for one, was quite pleased with the speed her form gave her. Kabuto lived in a world of slowed down time, and she was able to dodge every single thing the beasts threw at her. "This is the power of mortals?" she mused. "No wonder we were driven back time and time again."

The presence of the Riders scattered the Gundari, their sudden assault surprising them. Reimu cut through their flesh with smooth strokes of her sword, her body filled with Gaim's power. Her spirit lightened, and, after slashing the head off of her most recent victim, she let out a sonorous warcry. She drew another—a long black blade with a pistol for a crossguard—and charged back into the fray.

Makoto and Takeru stood back-to-back as Ganma swirled around them. "Reimu certainly into this, huh?" Takeru grinned.

The elder Fukami rolled his eyes. "Focus, Takeru."

"I'll clear this with no continues!" Takeru charged off into the fray.

Makoto groaned, turning to see Alia slide into the dirt right behind him. "Alia! Please tell me you're not gonna act weird, too!"

She regarded him with an indifferent headtilt. "As ants do not question the way the tree grows, so is it not man's place to judge the sun's actions."

"What?"

"The road I walk is mine to take," she said, pointing towards the sky. "Grandmother once told me that the ways of kings are of no concern to peasants." With that, she vanished in a burst of speed.

Makoto sank to his knees. "You too?! I was supposed to be able to count on you!" He lifted his head and wailed to the heavens. "Alia! Have you really betrayed us!?"

Noticing his distraction, a Gundari capitalized upon the opportunity and dove towards the kneeling man. With a start, Makoto rolled to the side, and with an odd battlecry that sounded something like "Ueh!" he flashed his blade along the beast's flank. The Gundari screamed, a bellow that was cut short as Reimu's orange saber relieved its body of its head.

Slowly, the numbers of the Gundari dwindled until at last the last monster fell, torn to shreds by Alia's supersonic speeds. With a mighty crash, the mutilated corpse hit the dunes, its life's blood spilling out onto the sand. The Riders waited for a moment, pausing to see if there were any more surprises for them out in the dunes. It appeared, however, that the monsters had expired in total, and the group began their trek back to the city.

"I'm not sure what that was," Reimu admitted when they re-entered the docking bay. "It was like I was a completely different person."

Alia nodded, flustered. "It appears we took on character traits of those whose Eyecons we used. For my part, I want to apologize for my unseemly behavior."

"Same," Makoto groaned. The group stopped, coming face to face with someone they hadn't expected to see. "Alain?"

The prince had bags under his eyes, but his gaze was determined. "I've made up my mind," he decided.

"Oh?"

"I'm going to fight," he declared, clenching his fist tightly. "I'm going to work for a better future for the Ganma—and for everybody else. So we don't have to live like _this_. So we're not remembered as the people who caused the end of the world."

A moment of silence passed. Then Alia nodded, her eyes smiling, and Makoto grinned the biggest grin Takeru had seen in a long time. "About time, you moron." He slugged the prince upon the shoulder, and, while the two had _much_ to work out, it was evident that the healing process had begun.

* * *

Alain was as good as his word. Given the Kiva Eyecon (the former King of the Vampries, who had given his life to protect the world along all those other Riders), he indeed proved his newfound resolve with a strong fist and steady will. The Resistance brought them in as full-time members, and they went on mission after mission, rescuing stragglers and bringing about a plethora of victories for the remnants of humanity. With the renewal of Alain's resolve marking the end of the first week of their time in the future, they spent the next few months as the hands and feet of the Resistance, struggling to make the future even slightly more bearable to live in for those around them.

It was in the fourth month of their arrival that a breakthrough finally occurred. The Riders were in the war room with the council, discussing their next move, when a messenger burst into the room, panting. "They've done it!"

"Huh?" The Riders and Resistance fighters looked up from the map on the table.

"They've found a way to break through the Void Wall!" the messenger said excitedly. "They're in the lab! Dr. Hojo wants to see the Riders!"

As the war council filed out, Takeru turned to Dr. Hiiro Kagami, who had been lecturing on routes to the other domed cities. "Void Wall?"

"Ah, right, you don't know," the elderly doctor nodded, talking as he led the past Riders down the hall. "The Emperor's City, A'gmhnxykh-C'q'mULa, is located where Germany used to be. Surrounding the entire city—and the entire former country—is a massive, swirling vortex of . . . well, we're not sure what it is, but it isn't good. It drains the life out of things, and will outright kill you if you touch it. However, several years back, we managed to siphon off a section and bring it back for research." He noticed Takeru's questioning look. "It's complicated, and it involved five computers and a vacuum cleaner. Ask Sento later. Anyways, the boys have been working on this for a long time, and we'd thought that getting through was impossible—until now."

He opened the door to the lab, and a crowd of people surrounded the tech team, as Dan Kuroto and Sento Kiryu stood atop a table. "Ah, everyone is here!" the aged physicist nodded. "Let's begin!" He started pacing atop the cluttered workspace. "So as you all know, we got a sample of the wall a while back. We'd discovered that, since there were fifteen different layers to the wall (one for each Ganmeizer, as I'm sure you remember), it was . . . decidedly difficult to breach the Void Wall's defenses. It was a mystery that eluded us . . . but no more!"

Dan took over. "Utilizing the combined properties of the past Rider systems, we have developed a system that has been proven to break through the Wall. In short, it utilizes a combined version of the Grateful and Muteki systems to blend the power of the Luminaries in order to blow away the Wall!" The madman cackled. "A feat only possibly with my _godly_ talents!"

"And my genius intellect, don't forget!" the elderly scientist huffed.

"Wait, what was that about the Luminaries?" Reimu called out, her interest piqued.

"The Luminaries! The fifteen heroes that Auyumu talks about occasionally!" Dan shook his head. "Or used to, until his dad died. But enough pointless drivel! The Grateful Eyecon combines the power of the fifteen Luminaries—Musashi Miyamoto, Thomas Edison, Robin Hood, Sir Isaac Newton, Henry McCarty, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Musashibo Benkei, Ishikawa Goemon, Ryoma Sakamoto, Himiko, Tutankhamun, Nobunaga Oda, Harry Houndini, the Brothers Grimm, Xuanzang!" Dan managed to say all of that all of that in one breath. "Their power combined allows us to combat the Ganmeizers, the servants of the Great Eye! Unfortunately, none of us can use it, and Ayumu can only wield a part of its abilities." He nodded, pleased with himself.

Reimu frowned, thinking. Takeru spoke up. "So what now?"

"We've tested this in the lab to one hundred percent effect," Sento said, "So now we figure that we'll take it to the field. We'll probably get only one chance, so we're organizing the best strike team right now."

"What does that mean for us?"

"It means," Cormano stepped out from behind them, "that in one week, we'll be blowing the Great Eye to kingdom come. Make your preparations, because we're going to take back our home."

* * *

 _Back in the past, 2012_

In the several days since the investigation team's trip to Germany, the Riders—and one mage—had since returned to Japan. Shotaro and Phillip left for home, intending to tell the rest of the Riders about their findings. Haruto took Marisa back to Gensokyo, where she gave a debriefing of their findings to the higher-ups.

After their debriefing, Haruto went back to the Scarlet Devil Library to see if he could find anything else. Marisa, completely and utterly exhausted, flew back home, looking forward to her bed—but her lights were on and smoke was coming out of her chimney. Immediately, her body flooded with adrenaline as she pressed up against the outside of her house, her mind racing through the different possibilities. Who could it be? She didn't have anything anybody wanted, and she didn't think anybody wanted to kill her, and—

"Marisa? If that's you, get in here." The door opened, and silhouetted against the light was someone she hadn't seen in quite a while. "It's not like you to be cautious."

Marisa exhaled, immediately feeling ten times more tired than she had previously. "Don't scare me like that, Alice."

The puppeteer snorted. "Normally you'd charge in, guns blazing. It's clear you've changed."

"What? No! I'm still the same as always!" Marisa folded her arms.

"I can tell. Your experience in the outside world has left you . . . different." Alice sat down at Marisa's table, and a doll pulled up a seat. "I put on some tea."

Marisa sank into her chair and gratefully accepted the beverage. "Oh man, I missed this." After a gratifying sip, she turned her attention to her guest. "Wait, why are you over here? It's my place."

"What, can't I take care of your place out of the goodness of my heart?" Alice feigned a hurt expression. At Marisa's flat stare, she rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. I figured you'd probably have something in here that would explode if you left it unattended, so I decided to keep Gensokyo safe."

" . . . "

"Okay, fine. Patchouli said she'd give me a tome or two if I got her stuff back from you."

" . . . "

"Ugh, jeez! Fine! Mom's over."

"Ah." Marisa nodded.

"Yeah." Alice rubbed her temples. "I needed to get away, and this was the best place. No offense, but your place sucks."

Marisa looked around her now mechanically-clean house, a far cry from the, in Reimu's words, "garbage heap" she had left it. "You've done some work, I see."

"Yeah, whatever." Alice shrugged. "So, what's the big fuss all about? It's got the Underground and Youkai Mountain in a tizzy, whatever it is."

"Never say tizzy again," the witch said. "But it's big. You know the whole ghost thing the outside world is going through right now?"

"Yeah?"

"Apparently ghosts of Aya's uncle and one of Yuugi's ancestors or something appeared." Marisa shook her head. "Weird stuff."

"Ah." Alice nodded, sipping her tea. "But that's not really what's gotten everyone in a fuss, is it? It's enough to make my mom visit, so it's gotta be pretty big."

"Yeah," Marisa said. She set her tea down. "I'm not sure how to put this, but a long time ago in Germany there was this weird kingdom, right? They worshipped a weird eye, but then they all died. Or so we thought, because Haruto thinks that the ghosts are eye-kingdom. So we went to Germany, and sure enough, we found evidence that supports the theory. We were also attacks several times, but that's another story. Then we found this freaky book detailing how this Great Eye or whatever will turn the world into its new body, and it was using the eye kingdom to do so."

"Huh," Alice frowned. "That sounds like something out of a fiction."

"Yeah, right?" Marisa nodded. "But . . yeah. It's been a rough while. If it's all the same to you, I'm gonna get some sleep, all right? I haven't had a proper bed since I went to the outside world."

"Please, I know when I'm not wanted." Alice stood, and a squadron of dolls exited the building. Marisa could hear retreating dolls form the upstairs. "I'll see you later." With that, the puppeteer left.

Marisa sighed as she flopped onto her Western-style bed. Unlike most of Gensokyo, she had surprisingly non-Eastern tastes, which bled into her magic. Kicking off her shoes, she wrapped herself in covers, and snapped, turning off the lights. She closed her eyes, willing herself to drift off to sleep.

 _"_ _Hey, Shotaro," Phillip said without looking up. "Where's she gonna sleep? You're not gonna make a lady sleep on the couch, are you?"_

 _"_ _Argh, shut up," the detective groaned. "We barely even have beds anyways!"_

Marisa's eyes opened, and she stared at the ceiling.

 _Phillip's ramblings caused her to jolt awake. "Phillip," Shotaro's exhausted and half-asleep voice came from the couch, "go back to sleep. Nobody cares about_ Prairie Chickens. _It's two AM."_

 _"_ _But Shotaro!"_

Marisa turned, placing a pillow over her head.

 _It had been a hard fight, and Marisa had nearly died. She was exhausted from cleaning up the havoc the Dopant had caused, and all she wanted was to go to sleep. She closed her eyes for a second, and when she opened them, she was on Shotaro's couch, a blanket over her. She blinked awake. Both Shotaro and Phillip were at the hospital, so who . . .?_

 _She got her answer in the form of one Ryu Terui, who looked up from the book he was reading. "How are you feeling?" the gruff policeman asked._

 _"_ _Like I've been hit by a truck," she complained, yawning. "Sho's couch sucks." She glanced around. "Did you carry me back?"_

 _"_ _Don't ask me questions," the Rider retorted, and she could see the hint of a smile in his eyes._

Marisa threw off her covers and grabbed her broom and hat. She stepped outside, kicking off into the twilight sky. She closed her eyes as the wind rushed past her, and she could've sworn she heard traffic for a second. She halted just before it became difficult to breathe, looking across the mountains at the sunset, hearing birdsong and the wind and nature. She was home at last, free from the burden of modern society.

 _Marisa stood at the top of Fuuto's windmill, enjoying the wind rushing through her hair. The evening traffic was in full force, and the streets were packed with people. It wasn't too bad here, she decided, though she wanted to get back home as soon as possible. Then her phone buzzed, and Shotaro was yelling at her to get back here, because Phillip was on another tangent, and he didn't want to hear about the Northern Football League one minute longer. Marisa grinned and hopped off, zooming the well-traced route back to the Narumi Detective Agency._

Gensokyo, Marisa decided, could use a windmill.


End file.
